ISRAEtS 
ACCOUNT 

i OFTHE 

BEGINNINGS 

i'WAlTERM.PATrON.PH.D..D.D. 




Class T\Sl23S 
Book JEa2L_ 



Copyright N^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



^ 



ISRAEL'S 
ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF 
THE BEGINNINGS 

CONTAINED IN GENESIS I— XI 
By 

WALTER M. PATTON, Ph.D.,D.D. 

Professor of Biblical Literature and History of Religion 
in Carleton College, Northfield, Minn. 




THE PILGRIM PRESS 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



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COPTRIQHT 1916 

By the congregational SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND 
PUBLISHING SOCIETY 



iR-3l9l6 



THE PILGRIM PRESS 
BOSTON 

©C!,A4 27115 

"Wo \ - 



PREFACE 

The purpose of the present work is to meet the 
needs of such as desire to understand the argument 
of the Hebrew writers in the first eleven chapters of 
the Book of Genesis. To attain this end a para- 
phrase of the text based upon a comparison of the 
Hebrew original has been largely used, and free com- 
ment on the story told by the paraphrase has been 
employed to draw out the implications of the writer's 
narrative. In the notes related to the page of text 
some matters of essential importance are discussed. 
To have thrown such discussions into the text would 
in most instances have obscured the continuity of 
thought. 

Historical interpretation of the thought of the Bible 
with special reference to the narratives as literary 
wholes is distinctly the aim of this book. It has been 
prepared for use in college classes, either as a basis 
for recitation and discussion, or to accompany lec- 
tures developing more fully the themes presented. 
Those who will study in college the Hebrew account 
of the Beginnings will include many who are not 
familiar with the literary problems connected with 
the BibUcal text. For the sake of these, a summary 
statement of conclusions which have been reached 
in the literary study of the Hexateuch is given. Many 
are also unfamiliar with the relation of these early 
narratives to the other and later parts of the Biblical 
History; they are equally uninformed, perhaps, as to 
the world of the Hebrews in which these early scenes 

[v] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

are laid. To provide for such needs, some pages have 
been given to questions of a general character in 
relation to Hebrew history. From these pages it 
will appear that this volume is designed to be the first 
instalment of a series covering the History of Israel's 
life and literature to the year 79 A. D. In so far as 
this plan may be realized, the special purpose to un- 
fold the argument of the Biblical writers and the 
other Jewish writers will not be lost sight of. The 
purpose to serve college students particularly, while 
keeping in view others interested in ancient Israel, 
will also not be forgotten. 

Naturally, originaUty has been no part of the es- 
sential aim. The faults of the book are probably 
original; its good is not, though those to whom 
debt is due cannot always be specified. 

In conclusion, acknowledgments are due to Presi- 
dent Donald J. Cowling of Carleton College for 
his courtesy in reading the manuscript and offering 
valuable criticism upon its contents. 

W. M. P. 



Carleton College, Northfield, Minn, 
February y 1915. 



[vi] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGES 

I. Introductory 

i. The Sources 3 

Native sources, 3; External sources, 3; Archaeo- 
logical remains, 3. 

ii. Character of the History 3-6 

Apologetic motive, 3; Remoteness from events, 
4; Myth and legend, 4; The historical sources 
viewed as presentations of religion, 5; The 
history of institutions, 5; Contemporary his- 
tory, 5; Derivative movements, 6. 

iii. Epochs of the History 6-9 

Crucial events. Exodus, Monarchy, Captivity, 
6; The four great divisions, 6; Period I. Pre- 
Mosaic, 6; Period II. From Moses to the 
Judges, 7; Period III. The Monarchy, 7; 
Period IV. The Post-ExiUc Period, 7; Outline 
scheme of the history, 8; Chronology, 8. 

iv. The World of Israel 9-10 

v. The Peoples related to Israel 10-13 

Israelis sense of relationship to other peoples, 
10; Knowledge of contemporary peoples, 10; 
Semitic peoples, 11; The Semitic type, 12; 
Semitic dialects, 12; The Hebrew tongue, 13. 

vi. The Land of Israel 13-16 

Extent, 13; Lack of seaports, 14; The river 
Jordan, 14; The Carmel range, 14; The Central 
range, 15; Names of the Land, 15. 

vii. Pre-Israelite Canaan 16-21 

Non-Semitic aborigines, 16; Older Semitic 

races, 17; Hittites, 18; Jebusites, Perizzites, 

Hivites, Girgashites, 19; Amalekites, Midian- 

ites, Kenites, 19; Civilization of Pre-IsraeUte 

Canaan, 20; Worship in Pre-IsraeUte Canaan, 

21. 

viii. Literary Character of the Hexateuch . . . 22-26 

The Documents, 22; Critical analysis, 22; The 

editing of Genesis, 23; The general character 

of the sources, 23; The literary "schools," 25; 

BibUography, 26. 

Notes, 26-27. 

[vii] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

CHAPTER PAGES 

XL The Narratives op Genesis 31, 32 

The place of Genesis, 31; Problem of Genesis, 
31; Hebrew Creation narratives, 32. 

III. The Priestly Writer's Story of Creation. 37-42 
Light, 37; Firmament, 37; Sea and land, 37; 
Vegetation, 38; Heavenly bodies, 38; Water 

and air animals, 38; Land animals, 38; Man, 
38; Food of man and animals, 39; The 
Creator's rest, 39. 
Notesy 39-42. 

IV. The Jehovist's Account op Man's Origin 

AND Primitive Life 45-49 

The sterile condition of the primitive Earth, 
45; Creation of man, 45; Man's primitive 
history in the Garden of God, 45; The river of 
Eden, 45; The wonder trees of the Garden, 45; 
Companions for man: Animals; Woman, 46; 
Analysis of Gen. 2 :4b-25: the Lost Garden 
myth; the Creation myth, 46-47. 
Notesy 47-49. 

V. The Loss op Paradise 53-59 

The Temptation, 53; Effects of the Tree, 53; 
The Curse on the Serpent, the Woman, and 
the Man, 54; The beginning of motherhood, 54; 
Introduction of permanent clothing, 54; Ex- 
pulsion from the Garden of God, 55. 
NoteSy 55-59. 
VI. General Features op the Narratives Con- 
cerning Creation and Paradise .... 63-78 
The authorship of the two Creation accounts, 
63; The form of the first narrative, 63; Pro- 
gressive arrangement of creative acts, 64; 
Material differences between the two accounts, 
64; The conception of begetting in the Priestly 
account, 65; The world-stuff in the Priestly 
account, 66; The twofold division of the first 
account, 66; The fourth day's work, 67; The 
giving of names, 67; The Creator's rest, 67; 
The dogmatic motive of the second Creation 
story, 68; The creation of man in the second 
account, 68; The gift of immortality, 68; Primi- 
tive history of man, 68; The creation of animals, 
69; Parallels with the Babylonian Cosmogonies, 
69; The scientific value of the Hebrew Creation 
accounts, 70; The ** Fall of Man," its general 
significance, 71 ; The Tempter, 71; The sentence 
of death, 72; The nature of the Choice, 73; 

[viii] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGES 

The advance implied in Gen. 3, 73; Gain and 
loss to the Woman, 73; The conception of God 
in Gen. 3, 74. 
Notesy 74-78. 
VH. The Increase of the Race and the Increase 

OF Sorrow, Gen. 4 . 81-88 

The story of the primitive race, 81; The 
genealogy of the Cainites, 81; Cain banished 
to the desert, 82; The Sethites, 82; General 
features of Gen. 4, 83. 
Notes, 85-88. 

VIII. The Priestly Genealogy of the Sons of 
Adam from the Creation to the Flood, 

Gen. 5 91-95 

Purpose and form of the list, 91; Chronology, 
91; Relation of Gen. 5 to Gen. 4 : 16ff ., 92; Re- 
lation to the Babylonian list of antediluvian 
kings, 92; Enoch, 93; Noah, 93; The list a gene- 
alogy of individuals, 93. 
Notes 94—95. 

IX. The Deluge,* Gen. 6 : 1-9 : 17 99-113 

The mode of using the sources, 99; The sources 
interwoven, 99; The matter used in the original 
order, 100; The Jehovist narrative, 100; The 
Priestly narrative, 102; Relation of narratives 
to the Babylonian Flood myth, 104; The possi- 
bility of a universal flood, 105; The date of the 
Hebrew Flood myth, 106; The story of the 
origin of viticulture. Gen. 9 : 20-27, 107; Pur- 
pose of the story, 107; Its relation to the Flood 
narratives, 107. 
Notes, 108-113. 

X. The Table of Peoples, Gen. 10 117-124 

The origin of peoples, languages, and lands, 
117; The principle of arrangement, 117; 
Omitted peoples, 118; Historical value of the 
Table, 118; The Table, 118. 
Notes, 118-124. 
XI. The Tower of Babel, Gen. 11:1-9 ... 127-130 
The purpose of the narrative, 127; The com- 
posite character of the passage, 127; The myth 
of the origin of languages, 128; The myth of the 
dispersion of the human race, 128; Criticism 
of the passage, 129. 
Notes, 129-130. 

XII. A. The Priestly Writer's Genealogy of 

Shem, Gen. 11 : 10-26 133-135 

[ix] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

CHAPTER PAGES 

Compared with Gen. 10, 133; The shortening of 

human Hfe, 133. 

B. The Genealogy of Terah, Gen. 1 1 : 27-32. 

The account of J, 11 : 28-30, 134; The account 

of P, 11 : 27, 31, 32, 134; The narrowing scope 

of Hebrew tradition, 134. 

Notes, 134-135. 

XIII. A Summary of the Teachings of Gen. I-XI . 139-1 r>5 
Purpose in view, 139; Comparison of J and P, 

140; The subjects treated by J in Gen. i-xi, 140; 
Those treated by P, 141; I. The doctrine of 
Creation in J, 141; II. The doctrine of Creation 
in P, 144; III. Man's primitive condition, 148; 
IV. The loss of blessedness, 148; V. The growth 
of civiUzation, 151; VI. The judgment of 
the world, 153; VII. J's account of human 
progress after the Flood, 154. 

XIV. The Permanent Teaching OF Gen. I-XI . . 159-100 
Appendix. A. Babylonian Epic of Creation . . 103-164 

B. Babylonian Deluge Myth .... 165-166 



w 



LIST OF WORKS REFERRED TO 

Baedeker, K., Palastina und Syrien, 5th ed'n (Benzinger 

ed.). 
Baethgen, F., Beitrage zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte. 
Barton, G. A., A Sketch of Semitic Origins. 
Baudissin, W. W. Count von, Studien zur Semitischen Re- 

Hgionsgeschichte . 
Bennett, W. H., The Religion of the Post-Exilic Prophets. 
Bertholet, a., ed., ReHgionsgeschichtHches Lesebuch. 

Chantepib db la Saussaye, P.D., Lehrbuch der Religions- 
geschichte, i. ii., 2nd ed'n. 

Dillmann, Aug., Die Genesis, 6th ed'n. (Dillmann, Gen.^.) 
Driver, S. R., The Book of Genesis, 7th ed'n. (Driver, Gen.'.) 

Encyclopaedia Biblica, i.-iv. (E. Bi.) 

Erman, a., Life in Ancient Egypt, (translated). 

Fowler, H. T., History of the Literature of Ancient Israel. 

Gordon, A. R., The Early Traditions of Genesis (ETG). 
Gressmann, H., Altorientalische Texte und Bilder zum Alten 

Testament, i. ii. (TBAT). 
GuNKEL, H., Genesis, 3rd ed'n. (Gen.^.) 
Gunkel, H., Die Urgeschichte und die Patriarchen (Urg. and P.) 

Harper, R. F., Assyrian and Babylonian Literature (ABL). 
Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, i-v. 

Jastrow, M., Jr., Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions. 
Jastrow, M., Jr., ReUgion of Babylonia and Assyria (RBA). 
Jeremias, a., Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients, 
2nd ed'n (ATAG 2). 

Kautzsch, E., ed., Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des 

Alten Testamentes, i., ii. 
KeilinschriftHche BibHothek, vi. i, My then und Epen, P. Jensen, 

ed. (KBvi.i). 
Kittel, R., Biblia Hebraica. 

[xi] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

LiNDBERG, O. E., Vergleichende Grammatik der Semitischen 
Sprachen, 1. Lautlehre. 

McNeile, a. H., The Book of Exodus. 

Meyer, Eduard, Die Israeliten und Ihre Nachbarstammne 

(INS). 
Mitchell, H. G., The World before Abraham (WBA). 
Moore, G. F., Judges (International Critical Commentary). 
Muss-Arnolt, W., Assyrisch-Englisch-Deutsches Hand- 

worterbuch. 

NoLDEKE, Th., Die Semitischen Sprachen, 2nd ed'n. 
NowACK, W., Hebraische Archaologie, i. ii. 

Paton, L. B., The Early History of Syria and Palestine (EHSP). 
Petrie, W. M. Flinders, A History of Ancient Egypt. 
Philpot, Mrs. J. H., The Sacred Tree. 

Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, I-V. 
Rogers, R. W., Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament. 
Ryle, H. E., The Book of Genesis, Cambridge Bible Series 
(Ryle, Gen.). 

ScHRADER, Eb., Die KeiHnschriften und das Alte Testament, 
3rd ed'n, H. Zimmern and H. Winckler, editors (KAT 3). 

Schwally, F., Das Leben nach dem Tode. 

Skinner, J., Genesis, International Critical Commentary, 
(Skinner, Gen.). 

Smend, R., Alttestamentliche Religionsgeschichte. 

Smith, G. A., Historical Geography of the Holy Land (HGHL). 

Smith, H. P., Old Testament History. 

Smith, W. Robertson, ReHgion of the Semites, new ed'n (RS). 

Torge, P., Seelenglaube und Unsterblichkeitshoffnung im Alten 
Testament. 

Vincent, H., Canaan d'apres TExploration Recente. 

Weber, F., Jlidische Theologie, 2nd ed'n. 
Winckler, H., The Tell-el-Amarna Letters. 
Worcester, E., The Book of Genesis in the Light of Modern 
lOiowledge. 



Ixii] 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY 

i. THE SOURCES OF HEBREW HISTORY 

These fall into two classes, those provided 
so^ws by native authorities and those provided 

by outside authorities. In the former 
class are to be placed the canonical books of the Old 
Testament and the New Testament, the Apocryphal 
and Pseudepigraphical literature of the Old Testa- 
ment and, in a few instances, the Apocryphal books 
of the New Testament, as well. In addition, there 
are the works of the Jewish historian. Flavins Josephus, 
who was an active participant in the events of the 
Jewish war 66-70 A. D.^ In the second 
io^ces^ class of sources there fall the record of non- 
Jewish historians preserved in Josephus and 
in Eusebius; the references in the classical historians 
such as Herodotus, Tacitus, Diodorus Siculus, and Sue- 
tonius; the record found in inscriptions discovered in 
Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia, Syria, and, 
caTRe^& to a Small extent, in Palestine itself. Out- 
side of all these is the testimony which 
archaeological research affords for reconstructing the 
life of Israel at different stages in her history. 

ii. CHARACTER OF THE HISTORY 

Apologetic The native sources which have been 

^**^*^^ named above, sometimes in spite of ex- 

phcit profession to the contrary, are colored by an 
apologetic motive. The writers have been more 

[3] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

concerned with the exposition and vindication of 
rehgion than with the orderly presentation of the 
hfe and thought of a people. As other materials 
are quite inadequate for even the slightest sketch of 
Israel's history, the inevitable result is that the 
modern historian who has to depend on sources sup- 
plied by Israel herself is obliged in spite of himself 
to write what is as much a history of a national reli- 
gion as that of the people itself. Moreover, the habit 
of interpreting events according to accepted theologi- 
cal principles is so largely present, in the Old Testa- 
ment especially, that a just estimate of what actually 
occurred demands the most thoroughgoing applica- 
tion of critical principles, both literary and historical. 
There is a corollary of this statement of 

Such Motive .1 i x* i* • ji •*• c 

impues Re- the apologctic motive in the writmg of 
fromEv^lnts history which has a serious bearing upon 
the reliability of the account given: the 
inclination to employ events for dogmatic ends pre- 
supposes some little remove in time from the events 
concerned; though in a time when the dogmatic 
interest is supreme we may find theologians in- 
terpreting even current happenings according to 
their ruling interest. In the Old Testament the rule 
that the apologist stands remote from the facts he 
construes seems to prevail and dictates caution to the 
historical student. 

In the accounts given of primitive times 
fmpue^the^^ the Old Testamcut makes free use of 
Yndli^lf myth and legend, the former to set forth 
Divine action, the latter to set forth human 
action. In some cases of this kind the historian 
may find adumbration or suggestion of facts of 
which he should take account.^ 

The history to be written is largely a history of 

[4] 



INTRODUCTORY 

religion. Its sources have a particular interest as 
affording a series of special views of religion held 
by many different authorities. These 
Havf iSe^est ^iews, with the literary form in which they 
gspecwi are set forth and the self-disclosure of the 
of Religion authors which they bring, form a subject 
of study in the progress of the history. Con- 
ditions and events furnish interpretative perspective 
for the study of the literature, and the thoughts ex- 
pressed in the literature in their turn lend a useful com- 
mentary on the movement of the outward life. The 
history of religion and events is a history of thought 
and literature as well. 

In the Old Testament there is incor- 
pfst^y and Pirated, as might be expected in a body of 
Its Value *^ canonical'' writings, a great deal of his- 
torical material bearing upon the history of 
institutions, both civil and religious. The institution is 
a trustworthy index to the more conservative thought 
and religious attitude of a people as a whole. It is not an 
individual expression as a work of literature generally 
is. The importance of taking account of the growth of 
institutions, such as the monarchy or the priesthood, 
is augmented when it is recalled that precisely at this 
point is there available an abundance of suggestive 
illustration afforded by the records of other peoples 
and by the discoveries which archaeological explora- 
tion has made in the Holy Land and elsewhere. 

In the course of one's review of a people's 
contfmpor^ Ufe its place in the history of the w^orld 
History should be made plain. The people itself 

will be better understood if its ethnograph- 
ical affiliations are presented; and the people's history 
will be more intelligible when the parallel history 
of those peoples who participated in it is studied. 

[5] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Furthermore, if out of the movement of the 
nation's life there may have arisen some conspicu- 
ously significant phenomenon, as, for 
Derivative ^' example, Christianity out of Judaism, 
Movements which yet cannot be considered as a part 
of the task faUing to the historian of 
Israel, it will be necessary to note the emergence of 
such a factor and to indicate as far as possible the 
preparation for it by forces at work within Israel. 



m. THE EPOCHS OF THE HISTORY 

In the historical scheme of the Old Testament 
there is an attempt to isolate a few great pregnant 
facts. The three greatest of these are: the Exodus, 
the Founding of the Kingdom, the Babylonian Captiv- 
ity. The first event marked the birth of Israel as 
a people; with the second began the political signifi- 
cance of Israel as an organized state; the third gave 
the occasion for the transformation of Israel into a 
religious community or church. Connected with these 
epochs are three great representative leaders of dis- 
tinctive type: Moses a man of essentially prophetic 
spirit; David, the king; Ezra, the priest and scribe. 
Thus, four great divisions appear in the History 
of Israel: I. The Pre-Mosaic Period. II. From 
Moses to the Judges. III. The Hebrew Monarchy. 
IV. The Jewish people after the Return from 
Babylonia. 

Subdivisions. Period I. In the pre-Mosaic period 
there are two sub-divisions: (a) the History of the 
World and Mankind, culminating in the Deluge and 
the new human race; (b) the History of the Ancestors 
of Israel, beginning with Abraham and ending with 

[6] 



INTRODUCTORY 

Joseph and the migration of Jacob and his sons to 
Egypt. 

Period IL In the second period, from Moses to 
the founding of the Monarchy there are, once more, 
two divisions: (a) the Founding of Israel, embracing 
the entire activity of Moses; (b) the Occupation by 
Israel of their heritage in the Land of Canaan, em- 
bracing the work of Joshua and the hero-deeds of the 
Judges. 

Period III. In the period of the Monarchy the 
same two-fold division may be made: (a) the United 
Kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon; (b) the 
Divided Kingdom (with Judah alone existing after 
721 B. C). 

Period IV. In the Post-Exilic period, or that of 
the Jewish church, it is customary to recognize a 
Persian age, a Greek age, a Hasmonean age of Jewish 
independence, and a Roman age. This mode of 
division is based upon the accident of change in 
political control and does not necessarily mark any 
material modification of the character or active life 
of the people. The whole period is characterized 
by the increasing power of the scribes, but one marked 
development divides it into two parts and in itself 
points to a definite change in the life of Judaism: 
the growth of the Hellenistic movement with the 
endeavor of Antiochus Epiphanes to make it com- 
pletely successful. This suggests that we should 
divide the period into: (a) the age of Ezran legalism, 
continuing long enough to see the prophetical Books 
of the Old Testament set apart and the work of Ben 
Sira written; (b) the Hellenistic age in which Judaism 
was divided into two camps according to the favor or 
disfavor shewn toward Greek thought and modes of 
life. 

m 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

We shall follow in our treatment of the history of 
Israel a division based upon this logical order of 
periods. 

Book I. The Early History of Israel: 
Div. I. The Pre-Mosaic Period. 

Sec. i. The Story of the Primitive World. 
Sec. ii. The Ancestors of Israel. 

Div. II. The Period from Moses to the Judges. 
Sec. i. The Founding of Israel. 
Sec. ii. The Conquest of the Land of Canaan. 

Book II. The History of the Hebrew State: 

Sec. i. The History of the United Kingdom. 
Sec. ii. The History of the Divided Kingdom. 
Sec. iii. The History of the Captivity.^ 

Book III. The History of the Jews as a Religious 
Community: 
Sec. i. The Age of Legalism. 
Sec. ii. The Rise and Growth of Hellenism, 
(a) The Independent Jewish State. 
(6) The History of the Roman Control. 

The Chronology of the Periods. For the time before 
Moses there are no data available for a trustworthy 
chronology. The Exodus falls in a time of disorder 
in both Egypt and Palestine corresponding to the 
date of the Philistine occupation of the southern 
part of the Maritime Plain, below Carmel. The 
date suggested is between 1250 and 1150 B. C. The 
establishment of the Monarchy in Israel may be 
placed at circa 1050 B. C; the Captivity is fixed at 
586 B. C. 

[8] 



INTRODUCTORY 

In the Jewish period after the Exile there are 
several conspicuous events. The age of reconstruction 
extends from 538 B. C. to about the era of the Greek 
conquest of Persia in 331 B. C; Hellenism worked 
from that date onward as a silent leaven among the 
Jews, until under Antiochus Epiphanes it became a 
factor in the public policy of the king, who sought to 
impose it on the Jews by force, 170-164 B. C. From 
this time on Hellenism was the pivotal factor around 
which Jewish life turned. The new Jewish state of 
the Hasmonean princes lasted from 164 B. C. to the 
Roman Conquest under Pompey in 63 B. C. The 
Roman control extended from 63 B. C. to 70 A. D., 
when the Jewish nationality was shattered by the 
capture and destruction of the Holy City. 

iv. THE WOKLD OF ISRAEL 

We have from an earlier writer, or writers, of the 
8th century B. C.^ a sketch of the world and its 
peoples as far as these were then known. The 
geographical knowledge of that time conceived of 
the continent of Africa as limited to the north- 
eastern corner of the Africa known to us and as sur- 
rounded by an arm of the great world-river. Arabia 
similarly was surrounded by another arm of the world- 
stream, while the Tigris and Euphrates, which formed 
the two remaining arms, bounded Assyria. Peoples 
south of Ethiopia, north of the Caucasus, east of 
the highlands of Media and Elam, and north and 
west of the Balkans and the Alps seem to have been 
out of the range of the Hebrew's vision in the 8th 
century B.C. 

In a later list of peoples and countries^ there is a 
more specific knowledge of the regions covered by the 

[9] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

older list and a somewhat more extended view as 
well. The writer includes among the '* sons " of 
Greece Tarshish which has been identified with Tar- 
tessus in southern Spain. 

V. THE PEOPLES RELATED TO ISRAEL 

There was among the Hebrews a sense of in- 
timate relationship to certain peoples, some of 
whom were their neighbors, while others were located 
at a greater distance. The Arabian tribes were felt 
to be kindred of the Hebrews in a specially close 
degree. The Syrian peoples were also more closely 
related to them than others. Assyria and the adja- 
cent lands contained populations which were but a 
little farther removed than these Syrian peoples in 
kinship. The Canaanites of the seaboard, whose 
commercial relations with Egypt and Africa were 
both ancient and constant, were ethnographically 
connected with the Hamitic races by the genealogers^ 
though by speech and physical type they were 
Semites.^ 

The Old Testament does not shew any 
ffc'Jli^empo- ^^^^^ knowledge of the peoples to whom 
rary Peoples Israel stood related, nor is the history of 
these peoples even at the times when it 
bears upon the career of the Hebrews at all famiharly 
known. It is difficult to conceive that writers in con- 
temporary touch with events should not more fully 
understand the movements of world history in w^hich 
their nation shared. Remoteness of the writers in 
time, and oftentimes in place as well, from the actual 
scene is the sufficient explanation of this defect in the 
historical sections of the Hebrew record. In the case 
of the prophetical writings, there is a juster apprecia- 

[10] 



INTRODUCTORY 

tion of the general movement of history, but there is 
much to be desked even there. The prophet is a 
dogmatist who sees in the acts of the nations il- 
lustrations of his dogmas and cares little for the 
motives of these acts which are professed by these 
nations themselves. The widest vision of the pro- 
phetic seers, moreover, covers but a fraction of Asia, 
Africa, and Europe. The world of Israel was a very 
small world after all. 

The Semitic Peoples. These include a number of 
closely related races occupying the extreme south- 
western part of the continent of Asia from the Persian 
Gulf and the mountains east of the Tigris to the Red 
Sea and the Mediterranean. In the migrations of 
the human family they are relatively late-comers 
who when they arrived found the heart of the Asiatic 
continent held in possession by others and thus were 
able to obtain a foothold only in the less desirable 
lands lying about the Syrian Desert, They are more 
closely related to the ancient populations of Egypt 
and North Africa than to the Aryan and Mongol races 
of Asia. This, with their geographical location, makes 
it probable that in Africa a primitive mother-race of 
both Hamites and Semites existed,^ and that as a 
section of this older race migrated into Arabia it 
there developed the special character which is con- 
noted by the term Semitic. 

Arabia is the cradle-land of the Semites as such. 
Thence, by routes which have been paths of migra- 
tion from the remotest antiquity, separate movements 
of the original Semitic group passed on to the north 
and to the east. 

What has been said will help us to understand the 
sense of relationship which the Hebrew people felt 
toward the peoples of Arabia. But the Hebrews 

[11] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

had also a lively feeling of kinship toward the Ara- 
means of Syria. This is explained by a secondary 
impulse of migration which has from very early 
times been carrying Semites out of the lower valley of 
the Euphrates into Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, 
and even back into Arabia by way of this northern 
route. For all the traditional connection of the 
Hebrews with the Arabian tribes, their linguistic 
affihations are rather toward the Aramean peoples 
and the ancient Semitic civilizations of the great 
valley drained by the Euphrates and the Tigris. 
The derivation of the Hebrew people as generall}^ given 
by their historians is from Aram-Naharaim or Meso- 
potamia, but there is at the same time a conscious- 
ness of an older and more remote derivation from the 
region of southern Babylonia.^ 

Despite the influences which have served 
The^Semitic ^^ destroy the purity of the original mother 

type and language the members of the 
Semitic family have still in common a distinct physical 
character and a speech which amid all the variations 
of dialects has its general features that belong to all 
alike and mark them off from other groups of peoples. 
To the Semitic group belong the Arabs, the Ethio- 
pian peoples of Abyssinia, the Canaanite races of 
Palestine, the Aramean peoples, and the Assyro- 
Babylonian populations of the Tigris-Euphrates 
country. 

The differences between the Semitic dia- 
The Mutual ^^^^^ of the aucient world is not greater 
^e semftk ^^^^^ *^^^ existing today between two mem- 
Diaiects bcrs of the Romauce group of languages, 

say, between ItaUan and French. ^^ The 
Hebrew dialect belongs to the Canaanite division of 
the Semitic family, which includes the Phoenicians, 

[12] 



INTRODUCTORY 

the Canaanite peoples of the interior of Palestine, 
and the Ammonites and Moabites to the east of the 
river Jordan and the Dead Sea. The variations of 
speech within the Canaanite division were not greater 
than those which we may find existing among sec- 
tions of the English spealdng race.^^ As far as we are 

able to trace it back, the Hebrew language 
To^e^"'^ is seen to be always essentially the same 

tongue. AVhen we first meet with it, 
there are present evidences of long contact with 
ahen peoples. The inflections have been largely sac- 
rificed; the syntax has become loose; the vocabulary 
contains foreign elements. The dialect has travelled 
a long way from its primitive purity. ^^ 

Vi. THE LAND OF ISRAEL 

Ideally, the boundaries of the IsraeUte heritage 
were from the river Euphrates to the river of Egypt 
(mod. Wady el-Arlsh). In point of fact, Israel only 
for one or two brief periods ever exercised control 
over so wide a territor}^ It is possible that in the 
days of David and Solomon and, again, in the palmy 
days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah, so wide a dominion 
may have been enjoj^ed by these kings, but the exist- 
ence of Aramean states independent of Israel located 
in the Lebanons and eastward to the Euphrates is 
almost certain for the second of these two periods. 
The real scene of Israel's activities in the Old Testa- 
ment period was on the west of the Jordan, between 
the southern boundary of the country of Hamath 
and the northern boundary of Edom at Beersheba and 
on the east from Mount Hermon in the north to the 
river Arnon in the south. This region was in its 
greatest length about 260 miles in extent and in its 

[13] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

greatest breadth about 100 miles. In extent it 
equalled about half the area of Great Britain or about 
the whole area of Maine. 

Excepting during brief intervals in the 
Seaports days of the Hasmonean independence, 

Israel had no good seaport in Palestine/^ 
and as a result never became in the Biblical period 
a great commercial people. The Phoenicians con- 
trolled the Maritime Plain north of Carmel and the 
portion south of Carmel was at first in the hands of 
the Philistines and later in those of the Arab-Aramean 
settlers who had made their way into the plain during 
the unsettled times following the downfall of Judah 
in 586 B. C. 

There are certain other features of the 
jordS^^^ Land of Israel which had much to do 

with the character of the people and the 
nature of their history. The river Jordan isolated 
to a considerable extent the population of the Land of 
Gilead and the Land of Bashan from the people 
occupying the country to the west of that river. The 
population of the eastern section had a character 
different in a measure from that of western Palestine. 
Moreover, when Aramean immigrants were crowding 
into the trans-Jordanic region the river stayed the 
advance westward for a time.^^ 

The transverse mountain range of Car- 
R^g^e^"^^^ niel also served to determine history in 

certain ways. The region to the north of 
Carmel was traversed by strangers passing to and 
fro in the business of trade or war; that to the south 
knew little of such going and coming. ^^ In time, the 
northern country came to bear the significant name 
'' The Gain of the nations/' '' the Foreign District.''^^ 
When the real Israel is referred to in earlier writings, ^^ 

[14] 



INTRODUCTORY 

a name is often employed which points suggestively 
to the hill and valley country reaching northward 
toward Carmel: Israel is '* Ephraim '' and his home 
is in the '^ Mountain of Ephraim/' especially. 

Everywhere the central mountain range 
MouStain^ scrves to Separate Israel, who dwell in the 
Range midst of it, from the life of the lower levels 

stretching westward to the Mediterranean 
Sea. Phoenicians and Philistines live a life apart 
from Israel, much as do Moab and Ammon on the 
farther side of the Jordan. Judah, in particular, is 
shut off among her mountains, ^^ and, until led astray 
by her false political ambitions, knew little of the life 
of the world at large. It is particularly in the 
mountainous, broken region of Judah that con- 
servatism in religion flourishes. Religion itself is a 
conservative factor, and Judah is preeminently the 
religious section of Israel. Politically, Judah had 
little opportunity. It had small room for population 
and limited national resources. It had, on the other 
hand, in its difficult routes of approach and in its 
strategic strongholds natural aids to defence. In fact, 
the successes achieved by the military leaders of 
Judah's history are due to the character of the country 
rather than to the forces in operation. 

The two names which are generally 
ofth^Land applied to the country are Canaan and 

Palestine, but each of these denotes a 
larger region than that occupied by the Hebrew tribes. 
Canaan in the Old Testament most frequently im- 
plies the country west of the Jordan, e. g., in Josh. 
22 : 9ff, but is also used of the west and east together 
(Josh. 11:3). In every case it must be understood 
as including the country of the Phihstines and Phoeni- 
cia. Indeed, in the Old Testament, as in Egyptian 

[15] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

usage, the term has a particular and perhaps primary 
reference to Phoenicia (Zech. 14 : 21, and, possibly, 
in the lists of peoples which originate in the 8th 
century and later, e. g.. Gen. 10 : 15). Palestine 
is a derivative from the Greek adjective corresponding 
to the noun Philistia. It did not come into use 
until shortly before the Christian Era and is first 
met with in the writings of Josephus.^^ Its more 
immediate application was to the Philistine plain 
bordering upon the Mediterranean. This usage 
continued through the period of Roman rule to about 
as late as the 4th century A. D.,^^, when under Diocle- 
tian the name^^ is understood in a wider application 
and includes the region south of Lebanon as far as 
the borders of the desert of Sinai and eastward so far 
as to take in the ancient lands of Gilead and Moab.^^ 



Vll. PRE-ISRAELITE CANAAN 

Within the Old Testament there are al- 
Peopies*"*^ lusions to peoplcs of entirely different ori- 
gin and speech from Israel: Zuzim, Zam- 
zummim, Emim, Anakim, Rephaim, Horites, Avvim. 
Of these terms Rephaim and Anakim are generic in 
application; the others are apparently specific. The 
Emim are the pre-Moabite inhabitants of the Land 
of Moab; the Zamzummim, the pre- Ammonite dwellers 
in the Land of Ammon; the Zuzim are possibly the 
same as the Zamzummim (mentioned only in Gen. 
14 : 5) ; the Horites^^ are a people dwelling in the Land 
of Edom before the settlement of the Edomites there ; 
the Avvim occupied encampments in the region of the 
Maritime Plain north of Gaza. Anakim and Rephaim 
have no one definite locality and are interchangeable 
terms. 2^ In different parts of Palestine there are 

[16] 



INTRODUCTORY 

found stone implements indicating that the country 
had been abeady occupied in the Stone Age.^^ 

Following these non-Semitic aborigines 
ShabUants^ i^ time, there were settled in Palestine 

before Israel's arrival various groups of 
Semites. In the Hebrew tradition there are men- 
tioned seven or eight such peoples: Canaanites, 
Amorites (Hittites), Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, 
Girgashites, Amalekites. The first-named are to be 
identified with the race inhabiting the Phoenician 

coastland, specifically described under the 
Canaanites name Cauaanites. The Amorites are a 
The Amorites People who in the 15th century B. C. 

are found in a region which includes the 
Lebanons and the plain lying to the east. In the 
disturbed conditions due to the Hittite movement 
from north to south about the 15th century B. C, 
the Amorites migrated farther south and estab- 
hshed two kingdoms east of the Jordan, known 
respectively as the kingdoms of Bashan and Heshbon. 
As it seems, owing to the disturbance of settled condi- 
tions following upon the entrance of the Philistines 
into western Canaan, the Amorites of the kingdom of 
Heshbon undertook to make themselves masters of 
western Canaan south of the Carmel range and 
established a number of city kingdoms in different 
parts of the territory. This advance of the Amorites 
from the east across the Jordan w^estward must have 
occurred not long before the entrance of Israel into 
Canaan and may have made room for Israel's in- 
coming through the territory of Heshbon and, then, 
over the Jordan. The Egyptian inscriptions of the 
19th and 20th dynasties^^ make mention of the Amo- 
rites as being already in Palestine. 

In the beginning of the second millennium, B. C. 

[17] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

there is a migration of people through the passes of the 
Taurus into Syria. ^^ They had founded a great state 
on the banks of the upper Euphrates long 
before the period of the Amarna cor- 
respondence (late 15th century B. C.).^^ The country 
from which they came lay along the southern 
and eastern shores of the Black Sea and was known 
to the Egyptians as Kheta or Great Kheta.-^ Hence, 
the people have been called Hittites, though that is 
hardly likely to have been their real name. Masses 
of these people continued to flow into Syria, 
until in the 15th century, B. C, their eastward 
movement was checked and they moved aggressively 
southward seeking in that direction a foothold for 
themselves. They obtained control of the old Amorite 
land and established a Hittite state on the banks of 
the Orontes, adopting as their capital the older Amo- 
rite capital, Kadesh. In the Old Testament, the 
chief references to them recognize their location as in 
the north beyond the boundaries of Israel. There 
they have several kingdoms. In Gen. 23 and other 
chapters of Genesis (26, 27, 36) Hittites are spoken of 
as being found in the southern portion of Canaan. 
Judges 4 and 5 imply that they had invaded the Land 
of Israel in force and the incident of Uriah the Hittite 
(2 Sam. 11), implies that in David's day they were 
living as neighbors in the midst of the Israelite popu- 
lation. It has been disputed that there were ever 
Hittites in southern Palestine, but the statements of 
the Old Testament are somewhat numerous and cir- 
cumstantial, and do not seem to be inconsistent with 
what we know of the southward movement of the 
Hittite masses in the Amarna period. ^^ If properly 
understood, we may accept the statement that Israel 
did ^' drive out '' Hittites as well as Canaanites, 

[18] 



INTRODUCTORY 

Amorites and other tribes from their heritage in 
Canaan.^^ 

The Hittites were not a Semitic people. Their 
language exerted an influence in Syria v/hich probably 
tended to deteriorate the already corrupted Ara- 
mean dialects. They do not appear to have affected 
the Hebrew language to any great extent. In the 
end they became assimilated to the Semites in the 
midst of whom they were settled. ^^ 

The Jebusites were a local group of 
Peoples- Amorites dwelhng in Jerusalem, cf. Josh. 
Jebusites, 11 :3 and 11 : 6. The Perizzites, if we 
Hivites, etc. follow Josh. 17:15, are a people Uving 
among the more numerous and powerful 
Canaanites in the originally wooded region north of 
the hill country of Ephraim and toward the valley of 
Jezreel and Bethshean.^^ It seems plain from the 
various allusions to them that the Perizzites were 
not a section of the Canaanites. 

The Hivites are located at Shechem (Gen. 34 : 2) 
and at Gibeon (Josh 9 : 7) with its daughter towns 
(Josh. 9 : 17), also south of Mount Hermon (Josh. 
11:3, Judg. 3 : 3).^^ In Josh. 9 and 10 they care- 
fully distinguish themselves from the x4.morites. 

The Girgashites are not known beyond the mere 
name. 
. , , The Amalekites have their seat in the 

Amalek, 

Midian, southem wildemess on the confines of 

^^^^ Judah and farther to the south.^^ They 

are a race of Bedouin habits who cause a great deal of 
trouble to the settled peoples by their daring raids 
and plundering forays. At some remote period the 
Amaleldtes seem to have been lords of what became 
later the hill country of Ephraim. ^^ The home of the 
people in historical times Isiy far to the south toward 

[19] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Sinai. ^^ With them are to be connected the tribes of 
]\Iidian who dwell in the same region and who are 
likewise found connected with the history of Mount 
Ephraim (Judg. 6-8, especially 6 : 33). In the midst 
of Amalek Kenites dwelP^ as they are a kindred folk. 
The region of the Kenites in the Sinai country is 
described as the land of Midian and also the land of 
Amalek. There are Kenites again in the vicinity of 
the plain of Esdraelon and Mount Carmel,^^ just as 
we have found Midianites and Amalekites in the 
north. 

All these Pre-Israelites as far as they 
uonofPre-" Were inhabitants of Canaan possessed a 
Canaan^ civilizatiou which compared favorably with 

that of other peoples of the ancient Oriental 
world. They practised agriculture, they engaged in 
commerce, they cultivated the arts of pottery and 
metal w^orking, they had some skill in decorative art, 
they built structures of large proportions and exe- 
cuted works requiring engineering skill. Their princi- 
pal cities were placed in locations where they could 
be easily defended against enemies. Hence, they 
were built most often upon the tops of hills with a 
steep descent in the direction of approach.'*^ Gener- 
ally speaking, these town-sites were of limited area 
and the cities within the walls were rarely of larger 
size than thirty acres. The water supply of these 
strongholds was always considered in the choice of 
their location. There might be springs on the hill 
itself or at its base, and these were supplemented 
by rock hewn cisterns lined with cement. The 
walls of these fortress cities were of immense thick- 
ness and of great height. The Israelites when they 
emerged from their wanderings in the wilderness and 
saw these hill-cities of Canaan, described them as 

[20] 



INTRODUCTORY 

" great and walled up to heaven/' This kind of 
stronghold was retained by Israel almost throughout 
the Old Testament period. 

The Pre-Israelite shrines^^ were built 
Worship in qu the site of their cities or close to the 

Pre-Israehte _,, ,^ . . . , . 

Canaan same. The altar was the virgm rock in 

which cup marks or receptacles of a few 
inches diameter were hollowed out, often with little 
runnels connecting two or more of them. These 
little channels sometimes ended at an aperture leading 
down to a subterranean chamber or adytum.'*^ The 
latter, when present, served as a chamber where the 
god of the shrine might be consulted and oracles 
obtained. In relation with the altar were sacred 
pillars, ^^ either isolated, or in a row, or circle. Some 
of them, the most ancient, were in the natural state; 
others were worked by means of a mason's tool. These 
are the '^ pillars '' which the book of Deuteronomy 
orders to be destroyed as an offence to Jehovah. 
The '* circles " are represented by the '^ Gilgal '' of 
twelve stones spoken of in Josh 4 : 20, or something 
similar. 

The sacrifice of the first-born w^as probably ob- 
served^^ and, likewise, the foundation sacrifice which 
consecrated a new house or other building enterprise. ^^ 

Teraphim or household gods were kept in the houses 
of the people. 

Buiidin Comparatively few buildings were of 

stone. In some, brick was used, but the 
common houses were of hard baked clay or mud, 
which by neglect or under attack crumbled speedily 
to dust. In one or two localities cave or rock dwell- 
ings have been found.^^ 



[21] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



Vlll. A BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE LITERARY 
CHARACTER OF THE HEXATEUCH 

1. Critical examination of the Hexateuch reveals 
that it is a composite work embracing materials 
from the following older works: 

(1) An historical work of the early eighth century, 
B. C, designated the Jehovistic history (symbol J). 

(2) Another history of a later date in the same 
century, designated the Elohistic history (symbol E). 

(3) A law code of the seventh century, with 
hortatory introduction and conclusion containing a 
few historical notices. This work is designated the 
Deuteronomic Law Book (symbol D or Dt). 

(4) A law code of the sixth and fifth centuries 
with historical introduction, historical setting, and 
historical conclusion. The work is designated the 
Priestly History and its legal portion the Priest^ s 
Code (general symbol P). 

2. The discrimination of these several sources has 
been forced upon students of the Hexateuch by ob- 
servation of the following facts: 

(1) The instances of confusion found in the record. 

(2) The contradictions and discrepancies dis- 
covered. 

(3) Repetitions and duplicate accounts. 

(4) The presence of homogeneous strands of nar- 
rative and law exhibiting characteristic vocabulary, 
literary style, mode of thought, historical and theo- 
logical presuppositions, and religious attitude. 

(5) The possibihty of placing side by side matter 
related to the same subject from four sources, each 
having its own characteristic marks. 

(6) Examination of the historical books outside of 
the Hexateuch and of the works of the prophets 

[22] 



INTRODUCTORY 

makes it plain that: J and E are of the time of the 
early prophets; Dt as a Law Code did not operate 
until 623 B. C, and continued in force until the days 
of Nehemiah; P was first introduced by Ezra 
and Nehemiah, but had not then been brought to 
completion. 

(7) The relative development of thought in the 
respective sources confirms the conclusions drawn 
as to the relative dates at which they appeared. 

3. The editor of Genesis did not find these sources 
isolated one from another. 

(1) After 721 B. C, J and E were worked up into 
a new work designated the Prophetical History 
(symbol JE). Some slight revision was introduced 
by the compiler (indicated by the symbol Rje). 
The compiler in a great many cases placed side by 
side matter from both sources relating to the same 
subject. 

(2) In the period of the Exile this work JE was 
combined with Dt. The new editor also (symbol 
Rjed) introduced a great deal of matter in the Book 
of Joshua and made some changes in the earlier books 
of the Hexateuch. 

(3) The final editor of the Hexateuch about 400 
B. C, introduced touches in many places through- 
out the work. He was a man of the same point of 
view as P (symbol Rjedp). 

4. The general character of the respective sources. 
(1) J acknowledges Jehovah as the Creator and 

Sovereign of the world from the beginning and finds 
a place for Him in the simple stories which were told 
of the world's beginnings and the age of the patriarchs. 
This was the earliest continuous history from the 
Creation to IsraeF^ inheritance of Canaan. It was 
written to show how Israel became the people of 

[23] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Jehovah and how they were brought by him into the 
possession of the most favored of all lands. The 
motive was that of glowing religious patriotism and the 
great figures of the history are portrayed with a 
sympathetic realism which but serves to throw into 
relief their ideal greatness. The work was not com- 
posed by a single author nor at a single period. This 
is clear from the duplicate narratives of the same 
events which it contains and differences in the mode 
of representation which are discovered. (In the se- 
quel secondary matter is pointed out where it is met 
with.) 

(2) E takes a different view of the patriarchal 
period from J. The patriarchs did not recognize 
Jehovah, and did admit the reality of '* other gods '' 
besides the Supreme God. The historian finds no 
place for the Supreme God, apparently, in the myths 
of the primeval time and therefore begins his story 
with the patriarch Abraham. Jehovah is first pro- 
claimed to Israel by Moses and through Moses, also, 
He gave to them a Book of Judgments regulating 
their civil and religious duties and rights. The view 
of Jehovah's character taken by E is less realistic 
than that given by J, but both agree in making 
prominent the moral perfection of the Deity and His 
demand for a moral attitude toward Himself. (As in 
J, so in E, matter of a secondary character has been 
discovered.) 

(3) P has its own special and unmistakable marks : 
interest in the usages and institutions of the cultus; 
the remoteness of God from human modes of being 
and action; precision and orderliness in Uterary form 
with a consequent fondness for certain set formulas 
and phrases; the prominence of Aaron in the events 
of the Exodus and afterward; the elaborate concep- 

[21] 



INTRODUCTORY 

tion of the Tabernacle prepared by Moses; the es- 
sentially ritual character of the revelation at Sinai; 
the peculiar conception of the Conquest as ac- 
compUshed all at one time by the destruction of the 
Canaanites and the division of the land among the 
tribes; the comparatively slight element of history 
serving as introduction and framework for a large 
element of law. (There is a large amount of secondary 
matter in P.) 

(4) D is a code of law, essentially. As such it 
represents a modus vivendi or compromise between 
the prophetic and priestly conceptions of religion. 
The authority of a central Levitical priesthood is 
accepted, but the spirit of religion and law is ethical 
and humanitarian. The doctrine of God is that of a 
spiritual and exclusive monotheism such as the 
prophets taught. D has a definite hterary history 
of its own. The Code (12 — 26, 28) existed alone at 
first and to it were added at different times two 
separate introductions (5-11; 1-4) and two or 
more appendices. (DupUcate matter in the Code 
betrays the fact that it is a compilation, rather than 
an original composition.) 

Owing to the fact that evidences of collaboration 
are found in all the sources of the Hexateuch it is 
recognized that each document represents the stand- 
point of a group or succession of writers and is to some 
extent the product of a joint activity on their part. 
Hence, J, E, P, D respectively, are symbols for the 
several schools which may be styled the Jehovistic, 
Elohistic, Priestly, and Deuteronomic schools. At 
the same time, it is to be understood that one author 
in each case is responsible for an original work and 
either himself takes in secondary matter or his work is 
taken as a foundation to which others make additions. 

[25] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

For a detailed understanding of the critical prob- 
lems connected with the study of the Hexateuch 
or its constituent parts it is recommended that the 
more important modern commentaries be consulted. 
The following works on Old Testament Introduction 
are among the more useful general works written in 
English: 

Addis, W. E., The Documents of the Hexateuch> 
2 vols., 1892, 1898. 

Bennett and Adene}^, Biblical Introduction, 1899. 

Carpenter and Harford, The Composition of the 
Hexateuch, 1902. 

Chapman, A. T., Introduction to the Pentateuch, 
1911. 

Driver, S. R., Introduction to the Literature of the 
Old Testament, 9th ed., 1913. 

Gray, G. B., A Critical Introduction to the Old 
Testament, 1913. 

Simpson, D. C, Pentateuchal Criticism, 1914. 

Smith, W. Robertson, The Old Testament in the 
Jewish Church, 2nd ed., 1892. 



NOTES ON CHAPTER I 

1 There are also some other native sources which are important, not so much 
for the history of events, as for the history of Jewish thought within the Bibli- 
cal period. Such are, the works of Philo Judaeus and other Judaeo- Alexandrian 
writers, and, also, the oldest portions of the Mishna. 

2 Cf. Gunkel, Die Urgeschichte u. d. Patriarchen, p. 17; Legends of Genesis, 
p. 13f. Gunkel has discussed at length and most suggestively the subject of 
myth and legend in Genesis. 

3 This distinct subdivision is made bo as to mark as clearly as possible how 
the causes at work under the monarchy worked themselves out and led over 
to the conditions present in the post-exilic community. 

* The Jehovistic history. Gen. 10, passim, cf . Gen. 2 : 10-14. 

* The Priestly history. Gen. 10, passim. 

« Ethnography and geography were studied to a large extent from a genea- 
logical standpoint by the Hebrew writers. 

' There were also those who saw a blood-relationship between the peoples 
of Arabia and the Semitic populations of Assyria and Babylonia, on the one 
hand, and the Hamitic Ethiopians on the other. The Hebrews and Arameans, 
who always stood together as kinsfolk one to the other, were never brought 
into family connection with the Hamites. 



[26] 



INTRODUCTORY 

* Noldeke, Die Semitischen Sprachen 2, p. Off; Barton, A Sketch of Semitic 
Origins, 3fif, 23ff, cf. 16fif. 

• Cf . Ur of the Chaldees as the birthplace of Abraham in P. 
^^ Cf. Noldeke, Die Semitischen Sprachen 2, p. 2. 

11 A standing designation of the Hebrew dialect was *' the language of 
Canaan," Isa. 19 : 18. 

12 Ezek. 16 : 3, speaking of the people of Jerusalem calls them a people of 
mixed Hittite and Semitic origin; cf. Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 
15, 62. 

" The Priestly historians of the Exile speak of the boundaries of the tribes 
as settled by Joshua, and as reaching to the sea, but the testimony is of litthi 
value. Judges 5 : 17b hardly implies that Asher possessed harbors. 

^4 Cf. the disappearance of the tribe of Reuben, the Aramean element in 
Gad, and the Aramean states of Geshur, Rehob, Zobah, and Maacah. 

15 Cf. G. A. Smith, H. G. H. L., 150ff. 

16 Isa. 9 : 1, Josh. 12 : 23 (read" king of the nations in the Galll," so LXX^), 
1 Mace. 5 : 15. 

1" Cf . Hosea, passim. 

18 Cf. G. A. Smith, H. G. H. L., ch. xiii. 

i» G. A. Smith, H. G. H. L., p. 4, n. 1. 

20 The name Palestine is, however, used by Herodotus of the coast and the 
hinteriand, Rel. G. G., Kanaan, 1. 

21 Applied to three Eparchies: Palaestina, i, ii, iii. 

22 Baedeker, Palastina u. Syrien s, Ivf . 

23 Horites. The name is identified with the Egyptian term Haru, which 
describes the country from the region about Hebron southward into the land 
of Edom. Vd. Meyer, Israeliten und ihre Nachbarstamme, 338-345. 

24 Cf . for these peoples, Dt. 2 : lOfF, 20ff. 

26 Baedeker, Palastina, etc. 5, Ivii, cixf . 

2« 14th-12th centuries B. C. First mentioned by Sethos I, ca. 1350 B. C, 
Rel. G. G., Art. Nachbarvolker Israels, 1. 

27 Possibly, eariier, as the records of Hammurapi's time (ca. 2000 B. C.) 
already mention Hittites, Art., Rel. G.G., Hethiter (Gressmann). 

28 Mitanni, in the region later known as Hanigalbat, Rel. G. G., 1. c. 
2» Baton, E. H. S. P., 106. 

30 Abdi-Hiba, King of Jerusalem, in the Amarna time has a Hittite name, 
Rel. G. G., 1. c. 

21 Later on, it will be seen that the conquest of Palestine was rather a peace- 
ful than a warlike conquest. 

«2 Cf. E. Bi., Art., Hittites (Jastrow). 

83 In Judges 1:4" Canaanites and Perizzites " are found in Mount Ephraim, 
but it is Hkely that the expression is used in a vague, general way for the older 
peoples found by Israel in the land. 

34 For the emendation " Hittites " for " Hivites " see Moore, Judges, in 
loc. I have preferred to retain the traditional reading. 

35 Gen. 14 : 7, Ex. 17 : 8, Num. 14 : 25, 45, Saul defeated them south of 
Hebron (1 Sam. 15), also David (1 Sam. 30). 

36 Judg. 5:14; 12 : 15. 

37 They are reckoned " the oldest of peoples," Num. 24 : 20. 

38 1 Sam. 15 : 8; mentioned after Amalek, Num. 24 : 2 If. They are viewed 
by the Jehovist historians as a very ancient people and are by them identified 
with Cain, cf. Gen. 4 : 1-15, 22-24. Moses keeps sheep for a Kenite (Judg. 
1 : 16), who is called also a Midianite (Ex. 3 : 1, 18 : 3, Num. 10 : 29). 

3> Judg. 4:17, 5:24. 

40 On the ancient cities, vd. Vincent, Canaan d*apr6s TExploration R6cente, 
ch. i. Les Villes Cananeennes. 

41 Vd. Vincent, op. c. ch. ii, Les Lieux de Culte en Canaan. 

42 Cf. Gressmann, T. B. A. T. ii, pp. 2-5. 

*3 " Masseboth," cf. Gressmann, op. c. 19ff. 

*4 Cf. Gen. 22 E, Judg. 11 : 29£f. 

« Josh. 6 : 26, cf. 1 Kgs. 16 : 34, cf. Gressmann, T. B. A. T. ii, 52-55. 

*« Cf. Baedeker, Palastina 6, 138, 186. Nowack, Archaeologie, i. 94. 



[271 



CHAPTER II 
THE NARRATIVES OF GENESIS 



CHAPTER II 

THE NARRATIVES OF GENESIS 

This book is part of an historical scheme running 
through the first seven books of the Old Testament 

and seeking to show how Israel became 
Gen^?s^°^ the covenant people of Jehovah and 

how as such they came to occupy the 
Land of Canaan. Genesis is that preliminary part 
of the scheme which describes the stages in the early 
history of the world and the human race leading up 
to the constituting of Israel as Jehovah's people.^ 

The story begins with the creation of the 
of^Gene^l^^ world by IsraeFs God, and the estabhsh- 

ment of His right, therefore, to order its 
events as He willed. Following this is an account of 
the fundamental error of mankind and the root of 
all human misery in the following by men of their 
own devices instead of the will of the Creator. 
Next is recorded the demonstration of the Creator's 
right over the world in the judging of its wicked- 
ness by means of the Deluge. The judgment 
destroyed the wickedness of the earth; but, none 
the less, in the new human race which sprang 
from the righteous family of Noah the old disregard 
of the Creator was renewed. There are in the sequel 
in Genesis repeated illustrations serving to make plain 
the fundamental positions of the book, that the God 
of Israel is the Ruler of the earth and that He will 
judge those who oppose themselves to Him. If 
Noah's case, on the one hand, shews that God will 

[31] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

discriminate in judgment, the subsequent narratives 
of the book, on the other hand, are devoted to shewing 
that the Creator in His sovereign right will not merely 
go that far, but will enter into a covenant of blessing 
with the righteous. He chose for blessing Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. In this way the regard of Jeho- 
vah for the descendants of these patriarchs and His 
redemption of them from their bondage in Egypt 
are explained. 

The Book of Genesis is thus a work seeking to 
prove and illustrate certain dogmatic presuppositions 
which must be assumed in order to understand the 
origin and position of Israel as the people of God. 
The fundamental presupposition is that Israelis God 
possesses universal sovereignty as the Creator. 

THE CREATION NARRATIVES 

The origin of the physical world and of mankind 
was a frequent subject of speculation among Hebrew 
thinkers. In consequence, we have, in 
The Hebrew the Old Testament a number of passages, 
Narratives some of them referring more or less inci- 
dentally to the Creation and the mode 
by which the Creator proceeded in His work, 
others being more extended and systematic in 
character. 2 To the former class belong such passages 
as: Isa. 40 : 21f, 28; Jer. 5 : 22; Job 9 : 7-9; 28 : 26; 
Psa. 24 : 2; 33 : 6-9; 65 : 6; 90 : 2; 136 : 5-9, 
Prayer of Manasseh 3; to the latter belong such as: 
Gen. 1 : 1 — 2 : 4a; Gen. 2 : 4b-25; Job 38 : Iff; 
Prov. 8 : 22-31; Psa. 104, and, outside of the Canoni- 
cal literature of the Old Testament, 2 Esdras 6 : 38ff. 
These accounts differ from one another in their 
contents and teachings, some furnishing details 

[32] 



THE NARRATIVES OF GENESIS 

which are not found in others, some presenting one 
order of creative acts, others presenting another, some 
describing the Creator as proceeding in one way, some 
in another. In some cases there is clearly a regard 
for rhetorical effect and a use of poetic license. 



NOTES ON CHAPTER II 

» Cf . H. E. Ryle, Genesis, Introduction, p. xlvi. 
* Cf . Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 98. 



133] 



CHAPTER III 

THE PRIESTLY WRITER'S STORY 
OF CREATION 



CHAPTER 111 

THE PRIESTLY WRITER'S STORY 
OF CREATION 

The ^' generations " of the heavens and the earth ^ 
when they were created. 
Chaos ^* ^^^ beginning^ of God's creating^ 

the heavens and the earth, ^ while the earth 
was in desolate confusion, with darkness over the 
face of the Great Deep,^ then, the spirit of God^ 
was brooding^ over the surface of the Deep and God 
commanded^ the hght to exist and it came into being. 

God approved it as good and gave to it 
Lf|ht1°Light and to the darkness separate places. 
froSf Darkness The Ught He Called Day; the darkness He 

called Night. Thus v%^as made possible 
the regular alternation of a period of hght followed by 
a period of darkness, both together constituting what 
we call a day.^ This much was the first day's work 
in Creation. 

God next commanded a solid expanse to 
D^s!S^of' exist over the earth so that the waste of 
Lowtr Waters waters should be divided into waters above 
the expanse and waters below it. The 
expanse ^° came into being and God gave it the name 
Heaven. This was the second day's work in Creation. 

God commanded the waters under the 

SefwSefsf Heaven to be gathered into one place ^^ 

sial^dLind so that the sohd land might appear. This 

followed and God named the solid land 

Earth^^ and the collected waters He named Seas. 

[37] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

God commanded the Earth to produce the fresh 

vegetation of herbs and fruit trees with seeds to 

reproduce their kinds. ^^ This took place 

Produced^b ^^^ ^^^ approved the result as good* 

the Earth The Earth and its vegetation represent 

the third day^s work in Creation. 

God commanded the sun, moon, and stars^* to 
be in the Heaven which He had made, in order to 
divide days from nights, to be for omens, ^^ 
BodiS^*^^'*^^ for the marking of seasons and days and 
years, and to give light upon the earth. 
The larger luminary ruled by day; the smaller by 
night. The result appeared and was approved by 
God as good. This was the fourth day's work. 

God commanded the waters to teem 
Air Creatures with living crcaturcs and commanded 
that birds should fly in the air under the 
Heaven. ^^ As a result there came into existence 
the various kinds of water creatures including 
the great tanninim,^^ and in the air all kinds of 
birds, and God declared His approval of the re- 
sult, and then gave these creatures a command 
to multiply their species. ^^ This was the work of 
Creation in the fifth day. 

God commanded that the Earth pro- 

Produce? duce^^ all kiuds of animals domestic and 

Land Animals wild, with iusccts and crawHug creatures. 

Thus did God make the living creatures. 

He approved the result as good. 

Man Created And God declared His purpose to make 
Likeness of ^^^ fashioncd after His own likeness^^ 
Divinity gQ 1^1^^^ ti^gy niight rule over all living 

creatures. God then made man male and female 

138] 



PRIESTLY STORY OF CREATION 

after His own likeness. ^^ He approved the result 
by bestowing upon the pair His blessing. 2- He 
then commanded them to reproduce their kind, to 
subjugate the earth and to exercise rule over the 
living creatures of sea and air and earth. ^3 

God told the human pair^* that to them 

The Food and to all living creatures of the earth 

and Animals were given all seed plants and fruit trees 

for food, and to the land animals and 

birds all green growing plants. ^^ 

God inspected the whole work of Creation and ap- 
proved it as exceedingly good.^^ 

This was the work of the sixth creative day.^'^ 
So the heaven and the earth were completed 
together with their creatures.^^ 

On the seventh day God rested after 
The Creator's all His work and bestowed a blessing on 
His Work this day and thereby made it holy, be- 
cause it marked His rest after the creating 
of all things.^ 

NOTES ON CHAPTER III 

iVd. Driver^, pp. ii, 19; Dillmann8, 39; Skinner, 39ff; Gunkel, Gen.^ 
101. ^ Usually, P places the name of the begetter after the word " generations." 
Manifestly, he could not do so here. It seems better to regard 2 : 4a as having 
been transferred by the redactor from the beginning of the story to the end 
out of a feeling of reverence, than to think of it as a late interpolation where 
it stands. 

2 EVV. " In the beginning." The Hebrew has no definite article. The 
word is one among others in vs. 1, 2, and 3 which, when they were taken over 
from the old myth employed by the writer, had already become proper names: 
beginning, God, waste,, void, darkness, deep, spirit of God, light (reshith 
(n^^^N*)) *elohtm (C^nbN) tohu (^iHn). feo/ili On2)» hoshekh (TyjJn). tehdm 
(C^inn). rtLah 'elohim (J^n^N n^!) *or ("TJK). Of. Ryle, Gen. 2f. 

*The Hebrew word is never employed of human activity, Gunkel, Gen.^, 
102. 

* Skinner, Gen., in loc; cf. the view of Gunkel, Gen. 3, 102. 

» ** The Great Deep," = '* the waters under the earth " (Ex. 20 : 4, etc.). The 
Hebrew word is Teh6m, which being without the article is a proper name. 
Originally it denoted a mythological being like the Babylonian Chaos-Mother 
Tiamat. Both name and character seem to look back to this Babylonian 
figure. Gunkel, Gen.3, 103; cf. Gen. 49 : 25; Amos 7:4; Psa. 104 : 6. 

« " The Spirit of God." Here the mysterious causal eflBciency of an ex- 
traordinary result. The expression is used elsewhere in the Old Testament in 
this sense. It may also mean the Divine Cause of life in man and beast, Psa , 
104 : 29f ; cf. Gunkel, Gen.^ 104. 

139] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

' " Brooding " as a bird on the nest. Many creation myths trace the origin 
of the world to an egg over which a Divine Being broods. Cf. Ryle, Gen. p. 6. 

8 The irresistible efficiency of a god's " word " is often referred to in myth- 
ology. Of Jehovah it is said, Psa. 33 : 9, " He spake and it was done; He 
commanded and it stood fast." Cf. Psa. 148:5; 147:15; Isa. 65:11; 
Gunkel, Gen.a, 104f. Cf. the New Testament idea of Creation, Col. 1 : 16; 
Hebr. 1:2; John 1 : 3. 

• (a) The Priestly writer marks the close of each day's work by stating that it 
was followed by a night which with the period of work made up the full day: 
" And God did thus and then it was night and once more morning, the first 
day." Such is the formula. Dillmann, Gen.^, in loc; Driver^, in loc; 
Skinner, in loc; Gunkel, Gen.3 : 106. 

(b) Light was the first created thing among the Plindus, Phoenicians, Greeks 
and other peoples. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 104. 

(c) Light and darkness have their respective " places " or ** dwellings ** 
from which they come forth. Job 38 : 19; Cf. 26 : 10. Ryle, Gen. p. 7. 

(d) God calls the light ** y6m " (= day) and the darkness *' layelah " 
(== night). God is supposed to use the Hebrew tongue, Gunkel, Gen.3, io6. 

1° (a) The firmament was solid *' like a molten mirror," Job 37 : 18. It 
was thought to rest on pillars, Job 26 : 11; as was also the earth. Job 9:6; Psa. 
75 : 3; 1 Sam. 2 : 8. The rain comes from the waters which are above the 
firmament. The latter is provided w4th " windows " and through these, 
when opened, the rain descends, Gen. 7 : 11; Mai. 3 : 10. For the " door " 
of the firmament vd. Gen. 28 : 17. The conception of *' heaven " as a solid 
vault is common in antiquity, cf . Gunkel, Gen.s, lOGf. 

(b) " And it was so " in vs. 7 should come at the end of vs. 6, so LXX. 

(c) We should expect to find after the second day's work what we find 
after the other works, namely, " And God saw that it was good "; cf. vs. 4, 10, 

12, 18, 21, 25, 31. Such a clause must be inserted after v. 8a; so LXX; cf. 
Kittel, Bibl. Hebr. in loc. ; Ryle, Gen., p. 9. 

" The Greek has " into one mass " for " unto one place " (i. e., niT'^O 
for C1p)0)» Kittel, Bibl. Hebr. in loc. ' 

13 (a) *• A manifestation of what before was hidden and a gathering of what 
was dispersed." Skinner, Gen. 23, quoting Ibn Ezra. 

(b) The sea is conceived as restrained by bounds and doors, Job 38 : 8-11; 
Prov. 8 : 29. 

13 The author divides plant life into herbs with seeds and trees bearing fruit 
in which seeds are contained. Gunkel, Gen.s, i08. 

1* (a) " And the stars " in v. 16 is probably an addition, but must have 
been added at an early date to make the account complete. Skinner, in loc. 

(b) The heavenly bodies are not given their names. They are simply 
*' lamps " or ** Ughts " (not the common word for " lamp "). 

"Dillmann, Gen.s, 27; Gunkel, Gen.3, 109; Driver^, 10; contra Skinner, 
27. 

1' (a) " Teem with." It is not likely that the productive power possessed 
hy or given to the earth and the living creatures of the land is thought of as 
given to the waters or to the air as the element of the winged creatures. How 
fish and birds come to exist is not made clear. Skinner, Gen. in loc. 

(b) The grouping of incongruous elements such as fish and birds in one day 
is due to the mechanical demand of the seven-day scheme. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 
109. 

"In O. T. (Isa. 27:1; 51:9; Psa. 74:13; Job 7:12; Ezek. 29:3; 
32 : 2, all late), mythical creatures of the sea; Skinner, in loc, but, probably, 
including the largest actual marine creatures, also, Gunkel, Gen.3, 109. 

^ 18 In the case of the plants, they have a provision in the nature which is 
given them whereby they spontaneously reproduce their species through seeds. 
Reproduction in the case of living creatures is a function created, by a special 
fiat of God and implies a voluntary act on the part of the creature. Drivers 

13, Dillmann^, 29, Skinner, 28. How many individuals of each kind were 
made does not appear. 

" (a) Other cosmogonies speak of the warm clay producing living creatures 
of the earth. In such cases there is no reference to a Diviiie command. Gun* 
kel, Gen.3, 110. 



[40] 



PRIESTLY STORY OF CREATION 

(b) In P (v, 24) the earth brings forth at God's command *' living creatures ' ' 
(nephesh hayyah). In J (2 : 7) man becomes a " Uving creature" (nephesh 
tajTah) aifter Jehovah has breathed Divine breath into his nostrils. Thus 
life in men and animals is generically speaking the same and both are described 
by the common name *' living creature." Vd. also additional note nephesh, 
infra. 

(c) In vs. 24, land animals are divided into three groups: Domestic animals; 
small swiftly moving animals; large wild animals. In vs. 21, animals of other 
elements are divided into three groups; Large water animals; small water 
animals; birds. Ryle, Gen., p. 17. 

20 The declaration is made to beings who are in the presence of God and who 
are like Him; so much so that God may speak of creating man in ** our 
image " and '* our likeness " — His and theirs. Of. Gen. 3 : 22, 11:7; Isa. 
6 : 8; 1 Kgs. 22 : 19-22; Psa. 89 : off; Job 1 : 6, 2 : 1, 38 : 7. Cf. Dan. 
4 : 17, 7 : 10; Psa. 8 : 5. Vd. Gunkel, Gen.3, 111. 

21 (a) As P knew of J's story of the " Fall " and recognizes that men early 
corrupted themselves, it cannot be said on the basis of 9 : 6 (the image retained) 
that he admitted no Fall. Cf . Skinner, 32. 

(b) The " likeness of God " is to be interpreted as analogous to the likeness 
of human descendants to their ancestors, Gen. 5 : 1-3, It covers all that 
heredity accounts for in human beings, apart from taint or fault which has 
become organized in the parents and transmitted to their offspring. Gen. 
9 : 6. Gunkel, Gen.3, 112. P shows reserve in regard to the nature of the 
Divine likeness because his age was opposed to definite representations of the 
Deity. Cf. Ezek. 1 : 26f ; Isa. 40 : 18ff, 25, 46 : 5; Gunkel, I.e. 

(c) The Hebrew had no difficulty in conceiving God in human lilceness 
(cf. even so late a passage as Dan. 7:9), and could as easily conceive of man 
in the Divine hkeness. Cf . Ryle, Gen., pp. 18-20. 

(d) In Gen. 1 : 26 ** and over all the earth " should be: " and over all the 
beasts of the earth "; so Syriac. Kittel, Bibl. Hebr., in loc; cf. Ryle, Gen., 
p. 20; Gunkel, Gen.3, p. 112. 

"ADDITIONAL NOTE: Nephesh. 

The whole nian in the normal exercise of all his powers is a " living nephesh.'' 
At the same time, one may with greater precision limit the use of the term 
]' nephesh " to the less tangible *' breath," and look upon this as bringing with 
it and holding in it the vital force and spiritual capacities of the individual. 
We may not apply the term ruah (EV. spirit) to the whole man as we do nephesh. 
It is reserved for the intangible breath and the vital and spiritual forces which 
go with it, and as applied to these it is synonymous with nephesh in its narrower 
sense. 

The only difference observed between the nephesh in animals as compared 
with that in man is that in the original creation of man according to J the 
nephesh is lodged in the inanimate body of man by a special act of inbreathing 
on the part of the Creator, while nothing is said as to how the nephesh was 
lodged in the bodies of animals. Presumably, the Creator sent forth His 
ruah (spirit) and they became animate; if so, the difference between man and 
animals in regard to the life-soul principle and its origin is not appreciable 
(vd. Ps. 104 : 30). What really made a difference was not the substance of 
the nephesh, but the likeness of the Creator in the case of man. 

When the expression " dead nephesh " is employed of a dead body it is 
merely an illustration of persistent association of ideas. The nephesh having 
been known in its connection with the body, the latter without the nephesh 
is still known by the term which had been employed of the whole man. Death 
is attended by the departure of the breath from the body and therefore by the 
departure of the nephesh. God has " gathered " it, that is, separated it from 
its tenement, the body, though it has not lost separate existence and still 
stands in some kind of relation to the dead, who are said to have " fallen 
asleep." 

The term nephesh cannot be used of God. 

Cf. Hastings, D. B., extra vol. 665, 666, 669. Bennett, Religion of the Post- 
Exilic Prophets, 228-232; F. Schwally, Das Leben nach dem Tode, 5ff; P. 
Torge, Seelenglaube und Unsterblichkeitshoffnung im Alten Testament, 3ff . 

23 (a) This is the horoscope of human progress throughout its entire course. 
Cf. Gunkel. Gen.8, 113. 



[41] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

(b) In J reproduction of the human species is necessarily placed after the 
Fall. In P it follows in obedience to the command of the Creator and has no 
connection with a Fall. 

24 Cf. 5 : 1 (P). The text of itself does not say that only a single pair was 
created, but the Jewish tradition before and after P speaks of one man and 
one woman and does not speak of more as having been at first created. Cf. 
Skinner, 33; and, on the other side, Dillmann «, 34. 

25 For P the primeval time is a Golden Age. 

On the early amity between man and beasts, cf. J, Gen. 2 : 18fT, 3 : Iff ; 
and echoes of a legendary past in Hos. 2 : 18, Isa. 11 : 6ff, 65 : 25, Job 5 : 23. 
On the violation of this original amity read P, Gen. 6 : 12, 13, compared with 
P, Gen. 9 : 2, 3. In the first age animals were not permitted to be used for 
food; after the Flood they were permitted, but only as the blood was not 
used, Gen. 9 : 3f. 

26 The recurrent appraisal of the creative result as *' good " seems to be 
intended to suggest that in the view of the Creator Himself sorrow and im- 
perfection had no place in the primeval heaven and earth. 

27 The more expanded and leisurely description of man's creation and the 
departure from the method previously followed make it probable that the 
Priestly writer is working up material from a special source. Cf. Skinner, 30ff. 
Man's origin was, nevertheless, always a specially fond subject in the mythology 
of creation. 

**Nj^ " sabha' " "host," cannot well be taken to refer to other things 
than those which have been dealt with in the preceding verses. Cf. Skinner, 
36. The word seems to have in view the divisions, orders, and kinds of created 
things. Gunkel, Gen.3, 114. 

-* (a) *' And on the seventh day God finished His work; and He rested on 
the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (2 : 2). In 2a, the 
Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and other authorities read ** sixth " for 
" seventh." Modern commentators prefer to retain " seventh," because, 
as the more difficult reading, it is to be preferred to the easy reading " sixth." 
Keeping the present Hebrew reading, the word '* finished " is understood in 
the sense " had finished," sc. *' on the preceding day." When this view is 
adopted, however, 2a is nothing more than a doublet of 2b. Taking every- 
thing into account, it is best to adopt the well-supported reading " sixth " in 
2a (vd. Kittel, Bibl. Hebr., in loc), and to take "finished" in its ordinary 
past sense. The verse presents a carefully constructed contrast between its 
two halves, the sixth day with its labor brought to a close being matched against 
the seventh day with its rest begun. Similar words in a similar order are used 
in each half and each half has the same number of words. Cf. Comm., Driver, 
Skinner, Ryle. 

(b) P's conception of the Sabbath as a day of cessation from work is re- 
flected in this passage. P does not intend us to infer that the Sabbath as a 
Hebrew holy day was now instituted, but intends to make distinct the great 
fact on which the Mosaic Sabbath law rests, namely, the Creator's rest. Ex. 
31 : 12-17 P. Cf. Skinner, 37fF. According to Ex. 31 : 17 it is implied that 
the Creator after the inconceivable labor of the six days used the seventh day 
as a day of rest in the literal sense of the term and as a result was refreshed. 
Such a view is not one which could be introduced de novo by P. It comea 
from an older source. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 115. 

(c) The blessing of the seventh day is objectively effective in communicating 
holiness to the day. Ibid. 

(d) The word " Sabbath " probably is borrowed from the Assyro-Baby- 
lonian '* shabattu " which seems to be connected with a well-known Semitic 
root " shaphat," ■= to judge. The " shabattu " of the Babylonians was a 
day when it was of the utmost importance that the good will of the gods should 
be preserved. Hence, many ordinary activities of the king, at least, were for- 
bidden. One such day coincided with the full moon day of the month. As 
with other borrowings the Hebrews modified the Babylonian conception of the 
" shabattu " day. Cf. Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 134ff. 

(e) J knows nothing of a Sabbath in connection with Creation, The oldest 
passages referring to a Sabbath among the Hebrews are Am. 8 : 5, Hos. 2 : 11^ 
Ex. 20 : 8-11, 23 : 12, Deut. 5 : 12-15. 



142] 



CHAPTER IV 

THE JEHOVIST'S STORY OF MAN'S ORIGIN 
AND PRIMITIVE LIFE 



CHAPTER IV 

THE JEHOVIST^S STORY OF MAN'S ORIGIN 
AND PRIMITIVE LIFE 

When^ Jehovah God made heaven and 
J^e sterile earth the earth was dry and because of that 

Condition - r ^ ^ 

of the nothing grew upon it [also because there 

Earth was as yet no human being who might 

cultivate the soil].^ There was only an 
overjflow^ rising from the ground which moistened it 
so that Jehovah God could mould a human form out of 

the dust.^ Into the nostrils of the form He 
of^Mar*^"'' had made the Creator breathed the Kving 

breath^; thus man became a living soul. 

In the East, Jehovah God planted a 

ifr^^mf-^'garden^ in a land called Eden. In that 

GMdIn ^ God garden, He placed man with a command 

that he should dress the trees and guard 
the garden.^ [In Eden there was a river which used 
to water the garden^ and as it issued thence it divided 
itself into four great rivers, the Pishon, which sur- 
rounds Havilah, a land of fine gold and precious 
stones; the Gihon, which encircles Gush; the Tigris, 
which runs in front of Asshur; and the Euphrates.]^ 

In the garden Jehovah God made all kinds 
mvin^Ttees of trees to grow, and especially the Tree of 

Life and the Tree of Knowing the Good 
and the Not-Good. ^^ Of the second of these, man 
was forbidden to eat on pain of certain death. ^^ 
All others were permitted to him. 

Because it was not good that man should be alone 

[45] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Jehovah God desired to create for him a suitable 
companion. He formed out of the soil 
of a Com- the various animals and brought them 
SiSiTxhe to the man. Man gave them names, 
AilmX;^^ according to their characters, but he found 
among them no satisfying companion. 
Then Jehovah God took from the man, whom He 
had cast into a deep sleep, ^^ *^ bone from his bones 
and flesh from his flesh,'' and framed 
Woman^°^ it iuto a womau. Her He brought to 
the man, who at once discovered her 
affinity with himself and described her by a name 
which might suggest derivation from himself: Isshah 
(woman) from Ish (man).^^ This physical affinity 
is^^ the ground of a perfect physical union and there- 
fore of the superior and permanent obligation of the 
marriage tie over every other tie of kindred. ^^ 

In their primitive nude condition the first pair 
were as free from a conventional feeling of shame as 
children are.^^ 

The story told in Gen. 2 : 4b-25 repre- 
mA^ISgcii. sents two original myths. ^^ GunkeFs an- 
Paradfse*- ^lysis is as foUows: (1) A story of the 
Creation' Lost Garden (2 :4b, 6, 8, 9, 15-17, 25), be- 
ginning with the creation and describing 
the desert-like earth watered only by moisture coming 
up from below; telling of the Garden made by God 
containing all kinds of desirable shade and fruit trees, 
and, in particular, the two wonderful trees, the Tree 
of Life and that of Knowledge; and relating how God 
put man in the Garden to tend it, with permission to 
use it as he wished, except that the Tree of Knowledge 
should not be touched. In this Garden man and 
woman were naked and knew no more shame than 
naked children do.^^ 

[46] 



THE JEHOVIST'S STORY 

(2) The Creation Story. (2 : 5, 7, 18-24.) Before 
shrubs and green things grew when there was no 
rain and no human beings to cultivate the ground, 
God Jehovah made man from the ground and breathed 
the breath of hfe into his nostrils. Thinking it not 
good that man should be thus alone, He made the 
beasts and birds to be his mates, but to no purpose. 
Thereupon, He made woman out of a part of man, and 
man at once recognized her fitness to be his mate. 
Hence, man and woman became one flesh from that 
time forward. 

The story in chap. 3 : 1-21, 23, is a continuation 
of the Paradise or Garden Myth. 

The Creation Story was followed by something 
now lost whose ending is possibly preserved in Gen. 
3 : 22, 24.19 

NOTES ON CHAPTER IV 

1 2 : 4b "In the day that," better ** when "; the second Creation account 
knows no dates. Ryle, Gen. 28. 

2 The clause is clearly an addition which breaks the connection. 

3 The Hebrew word is a rare and difficult one Cedh), here implying something 
which rises up from the ground in sufficient volume to " water "it. One 
naturally thinks of an overflow from a spring or fountain. Cf. Babylonian 
edU, ** high water." Gunkel, Gen.s, 5. LXX, Vulg. ** fountain, spring." 

* That man was made from ** dust," or clay, is the common view in the Old 
Testament, Gen. 3 : 19, 23, 18 : 27; Psa. 90 : 3, 103 : 14, etc. Gunkel, Gen.s, 
6. Cf. " homo " from *' humus," soil; also the myth of " Mother Earth." 

6 The breath is God's breath, and like all breath has in it the principle of 
life. Only in this case it has in it the Divine power of giving life to an inani- 
mate form. The breath is mysteriously lost from observation at death. It 
has gone to God, the Hebrew infers, and proceeds to infer further that God 
gave it to begin with, cf. Job 27 : 3; John 20 : 22. Ryle, Gen., p. 30. 

• It is to be called God's garden or Jehovah's garden. There He walks in 
the cool of the morning, 3 : 8, cf. 13 : 10; Isa. 51 : 3; Ezek. 31 : 8, 9, 16. 

The goodness of a garden which God made as His dwelling-place is apparent. 
Man in the garden was God's servant until he proved untrue to his position. 
Gunkel, Urg. and P., 57, Gen.s, 7. 

' (a) To an agricultural folk a garden of trees was supremely to be desired. 
For the trees of Eden, vd. esp'y Ezek. 31 : 8, 9, 16. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 57. 
The trees, according to Ezek. 31 : 8f were tall, widespreading cedars, cypresses, 
and plane-trees. 

(b) EV. " keep," v. 15 = to guard, cf. 3 : 24. In the first place, the con- 
ception is not that of an absolutely perfect environment. The trees must be 
cared for. In the second place, it is not secure from external assault of evil. 
It must be watched. Powers opposed to God are presupposed. Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 10. 

** To dress "the garden does not here imply the tilling of the ground. The 
same Hebrew word 'abhadh is used of keeping a vineyard (Deut. 28 : 39), 
and even of keeping flocks (Gen. 30 : 26, 29) . 

[47] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

8 (a) For the *' well-watered " garden of Eden or Jehovah*8 garden, vd. 
Gen. 13 : 10, of. Ezek. 31 : 7ff. 

(b) For the beautiful fruitfulness of the Garden, of. Isa. 51 : 3. 

• (a) Vs. lOb-14 disturb the connection between v. 9 and v. 15. The pas- 
flage is inserted to make good the omission of any reference in the primitive 
Paradise myth to the watering of the garden. This addition makes Eden the 
source of the world rivers and declares that the Eden stream watered the gar- 
den (cf. Psa. 36 : 8), and then divided into the great streams of the world- 
plains. Eden was thus high enough in elevation so that water issuing as one 
stream from the garden would divide at once into (four) "heads " (D*'t)'N*!)« 
Eden was, therefore, probably on the top of a great mountain. It was to the 
north of the Tigris and Euphrates, but exactly where no one may know, cf. 
Isa. 14 : 13f; Ezek. 28 : 13. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 58; Gen.3, 9^ 30 ; 
Skinner, 52. 

(b) For the mountain origin of the " river of Paradise " one may compare 
the vision of the " Age to Come " with its wonderful river issuing from the 
Temple mount, Ezek. 47 : 1-12; Zech. 14 : 8; Joel 3 : 18, or from the Throne 
of God, Rev. 22 : 1, 2. As issuing from the Temple or the Throne the stream 
is clearly miraculous; cf., also Psa. 36 : 8b, 46 : 4. Gunkel, Gen.3, 35f. 

(c) The Plshon can be identified only as Havilah is identified. Gen. 10: 
7, 29; 25 : 18 point to Arabia; in which case the waters surrounding the 
Arabian Peninsula are thought of as a river. The Gihon was identified with 
the Nile as far back as Sirach 24 : 27. The claim that the rivers are named 
in order from east to west has not been convincingly supported. Cf. Meyer, 
INS, 209f; Gunkel, Gen.3, 8f; Ryle, Gen. 33. 

^0 In a garden of God such miraculous trees are to be looked for, the one giving 
** life forever "; the other discernment. The discernment actually given by 
the latter was of nakedness, 3 : 11. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 59. According to 
inscriptions of Gudea of Lagash, as reported by Pdre Dhorme, there was 
at the Eastern entrance of Heaven, the Tree of Truth and the Tree of Life. 
Gunkel, Gen.3, 8, 37. 

11 ** In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die " (2 : 17). 
In 2: 4b, " In the day " is no mark of exact date; nor is it in this case. All that 
is implied is: " when thou eatest, death will surely follow." Neither the 
serpent nor the woman in ch. 3 refer to the ** immediateness " of the penalty. 
The whole point of stress is as to the certainty of death in consequence of the 
eating from the forbidden tree. In the Babylonian epics of Gilgamesh and 
Adapa the heroes become subject to death, but it does not come to them im- 
mediately on their becoming Uable to it. This is what is involved in the death 
penalty attached to the Eden prohibition. In view of man's enormous privi- 
lege in Eden the reservation made by the Creator had in it no hardship for 
man and the announcement of penalty should have proved a merciful deter- 
rent from wrongdoing. 

^* (a) n)OM*in» rather, a state of complete unconsciousness attended of 
course by anaesthesia, here and generally elsewhere, supernaturally induced, 
1 Sam. 26 : 12; Isa. 29 : 10; Job 4 : 13, 33 : 15. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 56; 
Gen. 3, 12. 

(b) It is of interest to observe that neither in the second nor in the first 
Creation narrative does a human being have opportunity to understand the 
mystery of the Creator's work in making man. In the first Creation narrative, 
he is, in fact, unable to understand any part of the creative process. He ap- 
pears last of all. In the second narrative man witnesses vegetation and animals 
brought into being; but neither of these involves the supreme mystery of a 
human life and soid given by Jehovah's inbreathing. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 12. 

^3 ** 'Isshah," is actually not derived from the masc. ** 'tsh." The paronoma- 
sia implies that Adam spoke Hebrew, even as the giving of the commonly known 
names to the animals implies this. Gunkel, Gen.3, 12. 

1*2 : 23, ** Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." Probably, a very 
ancient proverb, much older than J's record; cf. Gen. 29 : 14; Judges 9 : 2; 2 
Sam. 5 : 1, 19 : 12, 13; 1 Chron. 11 : 1. Cf., also, Ryle, Gen. 38. 

1^ Cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 57. One understands presumably that there is 
no thought of conventional marriage in the text; it is rather the thought of 
a permanent union which is involved. The Versions understood the union to 
be monogamous. They read: ** They two shall be one flesh." Our present 

[48] 



THE JEHOVIST'S STORY 

text is likely to be the original reading, though it is correctly interpreted by 
the translations of the Versions. Kittel, Bibl. Hebr,, in loc, 

18 This implies the special kind of knowledge which the first pair lack as yet — 
the knowledge of sexual capacities. This implication may be extended now 
to other expressions in the context, such as: " This now is bone of my bones 
and flesh of my flesh " (v. 23), and the latter part of v. 24. In both of these 
passages the primary reference is to biological adaptation. The term knowledge 
of good and evil in itself is quite general, but in the circumstances of the present 
case there is a special and primary allusion to the peculiar relation of male and 
female, cf. 3 : 7. To be without such knowledge is to be a child, and children 
these two were; cf. Deut. 1 : 39; Isa. 7 : 15f. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 59; 
Gen. 8, 14f . For second childhood of old people, cf . 2 Sam. 19 : 35. 

" Gunkel, Urg. and P., o3f. Gunkel's contention that there are two myths 
is to be admitted, even if his analysis of the sources be not in every detail 
approved. 

18 Gunkel, Gen.s, 30, 37. 

This story of the Lost Garden belongs to a large class of myths which set 
forth man's conception of an ideal human existence. There are three varieties 
of such stories, namely, those which place the happy condition in the earliest 
age of the world; those which place it in the last age of the world; those which 
place it at an extremely remote distance. The two former kinds may also 
make use of the feature of remoteness represented by the third kind of story; 
but the element of remoteness zn time is not essential to the latter. In the 
Bible the ideal human existence is at first thought of as in the distant past; 
then, it came to be thought of as in the future proximate or more remote; 
and, finally, it was transferred to heaven. With the last-named view is 
sometimes combined the second view and full blessedness in heaven is post- 
poned till after a final judgment of men. 

i» Gunkel, Urg. and P., 53ff. 



[49] 



CHAPTER V 
THE LOSS OF PARADISE 



CHAPTER V 

THE LOSS OF PARADISE ^ 

In the Garden the serpent was the wisest^ of 
all animals. He addressed the woman^ with an 

enquiry^ as to whether God had not for- 
soUcitation of bidden to them all the trees of the garden, 
and^?^^* She corrected him: only one specific tree 
H^^Vik^^ had been put beyond permission. If they 

should eat its fruit or even touch the tree 
they should die. The serpent in his turn brings a 
correction: Not death, but a knowledge of the Good 
and the Not-Good like God's own knowledge and 
that of the angels^ is conferred b}^ the fruit of the 
tree in question. The woman, then, perceiving the 
goodly appearance of the fruit and w^on by the hope 
of securing wisdom through it, plucked and ate of it 
and gave it to her husband, who also ate. The effect 

was to bring home to both a sense of the 
S'e^'^er*^^^ impropriety of their naked condition.^ 

They sought to cover themselves by mak- 
ing small aprons of fig leaves^ sewed together, 
and, moreover, hearing the sound of Jehovah God 
walking in the garden in the early morning, they 
hid themselves among the trees.^ Jehovah God 
sought for them^ and the man explained that he had 
hidden because of fear, knowing now that he was 
naked. Jehovah by this perceived that he had eaten 
of the forbidden fruit and the man explained that the 
fruit had been given him by the woman whom 
Jehovah himself had brought to him. Jehovah God 
thereupon turned to the woman who excused herself 

[53] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

on the ground that the serpent had deceived her and 
had thus led her to eat the fruit of the tree. 
The Curses Jehovah then passed a curse upon the 

Passed on the serpent, the woman, and the man. On the 
Woman; and scrpcut, He put a curse^^ more terrible 
"^ than any ever put upon any animal: 
he should move, henceforth, with his body flat on the 
ground; his food should be dust; he and all who would 
spring from him should be in continual conflict with 
the descendants of the human pair, the serpent kind 
attacking the man^s kind on the ground, the only mode 
of attack possible, and the man^s kind stamping with 
its feet the darting, biting head of the serpent kind.^^ 

On the woman the following curse^^ is passed: 
In sore trouble and pain she shall conceive and bear 
many offspring; she shall have a passion of desire 
tov/ard her husband; thus he will be enabled to 
exercise rule over her. ^^ 

On the man this curse ^^ was passed : The ground is 
cursed, so that it must yield man food; the tilling of 
the ground will always be hard and toilsome; in 
seeking to produce wholesome food from the soil, 
labor will be greatly increased, ^^ because it will persist 
in producing noxious growths of thorns and thistles. 
Thus will man always seek with difficulty to obtain 
food for life until death turns him back again to the 
ground^^ from which he was formed and to which in 
life he had been a slave. 

The Beginning Now it was that the man called his wife 
hiSd^^the" ^' Khawwah,'' because she was to become 
Name Eve the mother of the whole human race.^^ 

Now it was, too, that Jehovah God 
nent Covering provided more adequate covering for the 
oMhe Human bo^ics of the first human pair in the form 
of a loin covering of skins. ^^ 
[54] 



THE LOSS OF PARADISE 

Jehovah God now decided that as man by his act 
of self-assertion had come to a knowledge with respect 
to the Good and the Not-Good like to that 
Catastrophe: posscssed by Divine beings, he must be 
Exduslon from excluded fiom the Garden and made to 
theGarden ^j^ ^^^ g^jj.ig otherwise, his knowledge 

would bring him to discover and take of 
the Tree of Life.-^^ If he should eat of its fruit, he 
w^ould recover his lost immortality. Thus came man 
to be expelled from the Garden of God, and was 
caused to dwell to the east of it.^^ Nor can men ever 
hope to return and possibly find the wonderful Tree 
of Life. For, since the first human pair were ex- 
pelled, entrance to the Garden from the east has 
always been prevented by the Cherubim^^ Keepers 
and the zigzagging Flame-sword^^ appointed by 
Jehovah God to guard the way of the Tree of Life.^^ 

NOTES ON CHAPTER V 

^ The subject is not the Fall of Man, but the loss of his original blessedness. 
Gunkel, Gen.3, 33. The story in 3 : 1-21 was originally an independent 
myth. Its union with 2 : 4b-25 and with the stories from 3 : 22 to the end of 
ch. 4 was perhaps an already accompUshed fact in the source used by J for 
the whole section, 2 : 4b — 4 : 26. 

2 Mt. 10 : 16, cf. 2 Cor. 11 : 3. He is not only subtle, but is here bent on 
wronging both God and mankind. Such a beast of the field is not the kind of 
beast which at an earUer stage is in innocent friendship with Adam (2 : 19f), 
and one may suspect that a link is missing from the chain of the story. The 
serpent himself must have fallen to become thus opposed to the Creator, and 
to his own feUowcreature man. Besides, some reason must be found for the 
serpent's not addressing Adam, with whom alone he had had to do hitherto. 
Generally speaking it is assumed that the serpent is simply the mouthpiece of 
a demon (Apoc. Mos. 15-30, Cheyne in Enc. Bib. Art., Serpent Sec. 3, 4., 
Gordon, E. T. G., 282; cf. Skinner, 72f, 79, 81, Gunkel, Rel. G. G., Art. Para- 
diesesmythus. No. 4), but it seems preferable to think of a lost story which 
told how the serpent came to be opposed to God and man. (Cf. Apoc. Mos. 
1. c.) For the serpent as an animal, cf. " thy seed," v. 15. It is part of the 
wisdom of the serpent that he should feign ignorance and seek to be informed. 
Ryle, Gen. 51. 

3 Hardly as the more mobile in temperament (Sk. Gu.). The late Jewish 
legend which speaks of his awakening passion in the woman is more in harmony 
with the context. 

* The serpent pretends ignorance. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 60. 
6 (a) So the Jewish interpreters; Gunkel, Gen.3, 29. 

(b) ** Like to " does not mean '* the same as," Gunkel, 1. c. 

(c) Job 15 : 7-8 indicates the existence of a tradition to the effect that the 
first man had come into possession of Di\ane wisdom. Ezek. 28 : 1-19, con- 

[55] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

tains echoes of an ancient Paradise myth adapted to the requirements of a 
prophecy against T>Te. The myth seems to presuppose that the being who 
forfeited Paradise possessed extraordinary wisdom, cf. Gunkel, Gen.', 34, 

"At this point myth has become deliberate allegory; the author is now 
thinking directly of the consequences of a sexual act and fully understands that 
the eating of the fruit is not the direct cause of these consequences. " A con- 
nection between sexual shame and sin (Di.) is not suggested byithe passage . . ." 
Sk. 76. " The idea which Gunkel has propounded, that the knowledge is 
mainly sexual consciousness and that the direct result of the eating appears 
in 3 : 7 (Handk., 14f, 25ff) seems hardly to need serious refutation," Gordon, 
E. T. G., 156. The opinion of the two scholars Di. and Gu., nevertheless 
seems to be that required by the plain meaning of text and context. It is 
not intimated that the transaction involved essentially other than the following 
elements. 1. No sense of shame when naked before the act of eating. 2. The 
act of eating. 3. A knowledge of nakedness and attempt to conceal it. 4. 
Hiding from God out of fear because of nakedness. 5. Connection made by 
God between eating of the tree and knowledge of nakedness. 6. Physical 
penalties imposed by God on serpent, woman, man, with an added spiritual 
penalty of passion toward her husband imposed upon the woman. 7. Adam 
names his wife by a nanie significant of motherhood. 8. God makes for the 
pair more adequate coverings of skins. 

The conclusion drawn by Di. and Gu. seems more relevant than one which 
emphasizes purely moral results. It is, however, necessary to go beyond the 
explicit indications of text and context. 9. The first pair had a moral test 
imposed upon them; they disobeyed God and became morally culpable. 10. 
They came to know good and evil as God knows it, i. e., they came to definite 
intellectual and moral responsibility based on capacity to discriminate good 
and evil. Cf. Skinner, 94-97. 

7 (a) The fig tree does not grow in Babylonia. This fact is evidence against 
a Babylonian origin for the story. Gunkel, Gen. 3, 38; Dillmann, Gen. 6, 74. 

(b) " Fig leaves are thick, palmately lobed, and often a span or more 
across "; Hastings, Diet. Bible, Art. Figs. 

8 Gunkel, Urg. and P., 62, rightly interprets the words ^i^n mm^, " ruah 
hayyom," of the morning. Cf. Cant. 2 : 17; 4:6 RV. The act of transgres- 
sion was an act of night. Cf . Skinner, Gen. 77. 

' The God of the story of the Fall is one who does not know where Adam 
and Eve are when they hide themselves; that is to say, while of superhuman 
knowledge he is not all-knowing. He does not perceive why the man is 
afraid of him until the latter reveals that he has become aware of his nakedness. 
Notice that the entire course of the Fall is drawn out by four questions asked 
for information by the Divine Being (vs. 9-13). Gunkel, Gen.^, 18f. 

10 (a) An answer to the primitive queries: How comes the serpent (1) to 
glide along the ground (2), to eat dust (cf. Mic. 7 : 17; Isa. 65 : 25), (3) to be 
so treacherously hostile to men? Cf . Skinner, 78. Gunkel, Gen.», 20f. It 
should be observed that the conflict is the fact emphasized, not the victory of 
one side over the other. A promise of victory has no logical place in a curse 
such as this is. 

(b) It is possible that the curses Gen. 3 : 14-19 are taken from an old poetical 
account of the Fall. They are in metrical form. As illustration of the way 
in which the matter of the curses lends itself to English metrical translation, 
the following version may serve: 

The Curse of the Serpent: 

Cursed among cattle and beasts of the wild shalt thou be; 

All the days of thy life shalt go flat on the ground and shalt eat of its dust. 

I will put bitter hate between thee and mankind, 

Between offspring of theirs and of thine. 

They shall stamp on thy head; thou shalt snap at their heel. 

The Curse of the Woman: 

I will now multiply cruel pains of conception for thee; 

In distress shalt thou bring forth thy sons. 

None the less, to thy husband shall be thy desire; 

By its means shall he make thee his slave. 



[56] 



THE LOSS OF PARADISE 

The Curse of the Man: 

Under curse is the ground for thy sake. 

In distress thou shalt eat from it all of thy days, 

And to thee it shall yield plague of thistles and thorns. 

As thy food, thou shalt have of the plants of the field; 

And in sweat of thy face for thy bread thou shalt toil, 

Even till thy return to the ground out of which thou wast made. 

Yea, thou art dust and to dust shalt go back! 

11 This mutual warfare is no natural happening and no accident, but is the 
working out of the fatally effective curse of Jehovah. The enmity between 
serpent and man is to be understood as literally as the degradation of the 
serpent kind. Throughout these curses it is no part of the author's purpose 
to hold out hope to man. Had there been such an intention it would have 
taken the form of a promise of possible deliverance from the penalty of 
death. There is no hint of such a promise. 

12 (a) Answer to the query: Why the troubles of motherhood and continu- 
ing sexual desire with the advantage they bring to man? Consider the se- 
quence: 1. Increase of pain and pregnancy. 2. Painful childbirth. 3. Con- 
tinuing sexual craving. 4. Man makes use of the woman. There is a close 
logical connection throughout. 

(b) For " conception," v. 16, many modern commentators (e.g. Gunkel) 
read following the Greek " thy groaning." The change required in the Hebrew 
text is very slight, but does not seem necessary. The sense " I wall greatly 
multiply painful conception for thee " is a fair rendering of the author's thought, 
and suits the general requirements of the passage. 

(c) Vulg, " Sub viri potestate eris.'* 

13 The legal rights of a married woman in the Old Testament are closely 
restricted. A wife is bought to bear children and is owned by her husband 
for that purpose. It was generally easy for the *' ba'al," " owner, lord," to 
control the " be'tilah," " wife," through the very purpose of their union. 

14 Answer to the query. Why the toilsome labor of man and the painful 
contest with the evil growths of the soil? Why does the soil produce noxious 
things and require man to give such hard toil in order to subdue it? 

1* In spite of the story of primitive man engaged in keeping the garden of 
trees, this curse seems to some to assume that the man was to be a tiller of 
the soil while still in the garden. It is likely that the inconsistency did not 
appear to the writer. In v. 23, the tilling of the ground does not begin till 
after the expulsion from Eden. Cf . Gunkel, Urg. and P., 64. 

16 This is a part of the curse (Di., cf. 2 : 17) as appears from the fact that 
the reason for the return to the dust is emphatically given, as if not known 
before. Gordon, E. T. G., 288 f . (for opposite view, Skinner, 84). 

17 (a) The curse of woman is childbirth, of man it is toil. When women 
come to the age when they cease to be children, they must bear children; 
when men cease to be children, they must labor to support women and children, 
cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 66. 

(b) The reason for giving the name does not represent any known meaning 
of the name Khawwah, which may mean either "life" or " a living one " (Di., 
Sk., Cheyne, Enc. Bibl., Art. Adam and Eve). 

(c) V. 20 probably belongs where it stands though it anticipates the fact 
it implies. This objection to the etymology of the name holds also if v. 20 
be placed either before or after 4:1 (Di., Sk. suggest this); cf, Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 23. 

(d) Khawwah is probably an older form of Khayyah. 

18 (a) After Adapa in the Babylonian myth has come to know the secrets 
of heaven and earth he is presented by kindly gods with a robe with which he 
covers his nakedness. It is a symbol of advancing civilization. 

(b) The garments suggested are the sleeveless ones usually worn under the 
outside robe and reaching to the knees. Ryle, Gen. 57, cf . Nowack, Hebr. 
Archaeologie, I : 121. 

(c) Gen. 3 : 21 is an interesting indication that Jehovah still feels a kindly 
interest in man. Ryle, Gen. 57. 

i» Deity in the Hebrew view was always jealous of its peculiar prerogatives 
and dignity, cf. 3 : 5, 11 : 5; Ex. 33 : 20; Isa. 42 : 8, 48 : 11, etc. 



[57] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

In the Adapa legend, Ea the Creator of man unwittingly prevents him from 
gaining immortality. Harper, A. B. L., 314fif. 

20 It does not seem necessary to assume that this Tree had been originally 
prohibited. It is a tree to give healing and life to such as need them. There 
has been no need to seek it hitherto (cf . Sk. 88, Gunkel, in Rel. G. G., Art. Para- 
diesesmythus, 2, for a different view). Moreover, man has gained a kind of 
knowledge which will urge him on to seek the Tree of Healing (cf. Gunkel, 
Gen.a, 24). 

This whole incident possibly reflects the *' jealousy of Jehovah," but the 
threat of death was found earlier in this version of the Temptation and the 
exclusion from the Tree of Life is required to fulfil it. The exclusion pre- 
supposes some Buch story as goes before in ch. 3. Nor does the postponing 
of the actual curse of tilling the soil until after the expulsion seem to involve 
serious contradiction. The whole chapter may without undue straining of 
logic be viewed as a unity (cf. Sk. 87ff; Gordon, ETG, 8f). The incomplete 
sentence of v. 22, harsh as it seems, is probably as it was written by the author. 

21 Cf. Gen. 11 : 2 J. The LXX adds *' him " (i. e. Adam) after ** placed." 
It also inserts ** and he placed " after " Eden." Both appear to give a better 
reading. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 24. 

22 (A) 1. The cherubim are guardians of the Garden of God. Cf. Ezek. 
28 : 13-16. 

2. They guard the way of access to the Tree of Life. Cf . 1 Kgs. 6 : 23ff, 
7 : (29), 36; Ezek. 41 : 18-20. 

3. They are associated with the hghtning. Cf. Ezek. 1 : 4f, 10 : 2ff, 
28 : 14-16; Psa. 18 : 8ff (and with thunderings) . 

Other features mentioned elsewhere are: 

4. They fly with wings, which are described as the '* wings of the wind," 
i. e. the clouds. Cf. Psa. 18 : 10, 104 : 3; Ezek. 1 : 4f . The cloud forms 
seem as ** wheels within wheels," Ezek. 1, passim, 10, passim. 

5. They form God's seat or His chariot, see reff. supra and Ex. 25 : 22; 
1 Sam. 4 : 4; 2 Sam. 6 : 2; Psa. 80 : 1, 99 : 1. 

6. They guard the place where God is. Gen. 3 : 24; Ex. 25 : 18-20; Ezek. 10 : 
4, 18, 19; Rev. 4 : 6-8. 

7. They are composite beings of different aspects, with human hands, and in 
some cases with human faces (see reff. given), cf. Sk. 89f, Bertholet, R. G. G., ii, 
1221. 

(B) For the self-moving sword of God or Jehovah, cf. Isa. 27 : 1, 34 : 5-6ff, 
51:9; Jer. 12:12,47:6; Ezek. 21:8-17, 28; Deut. 32:41-42; Psa. 
7 : 12. 

23 Lit. *' turning this way and that," cf. Job 37 : 12. The Flame sword 
is the lightning. Cf. Psa. 18 : 14, 77 : 17; Hab. 3:11, and, especially, 
Ezek. 21:10f; Isa. 66 : 15f, 27:1; Psa. 7:12; Rev. 1:16, 2:12-16, 
19 : 15. 

24 Myth of Engidu (or Edbani) — an incomplete parallel to Gen. 2-3, which 
illustrates the loss of Paradise. In the First Tablet of the Babylonian Epic of 
Gilgamesh (of much older origin than the Hebrew narratives of the begin- 
nings) there is an account of a male being, Engidu, who is created by the 
goddess Aruru in the hkeness of the God of heaven, Anu, as a companion for 
the hero Gilgamesh, because the latter needs such a companion. This being 
at first lives a primitive life with the beasts of the field and acts as their protec- 
tor from the hunter. The hunter, advised by Gilgamesh, entices this simple 
" wild man " by means of a sacred prostitute and woos him away from the 
beasts. The passion for the woman leads Engidu to follow her to the city of 
Uruk, where Gilgamesh rules, and with him the whilom '* wild man " forms 
a close friendship and begins a " civilized " life. Love lost to him primitive 
joys, but love also gained for him a nobler life. (Gressmann, TBAT, 41.) 
Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 209. 

The Babylonian Myth of Ada-pa, as illustrating the loss of immortality. The 
oldest extant text is from the Amarna period, 14th century, B. C. The fisher- 
man, Adapa, broke the wings of the South Wind because it had wrecked his 
boat. Anu, the god of the sky, is angry and summons Adapa before him. Ea 
warns him as he goes that he will be tendered, among other things, bread and 
water of death, and that he must on no account take them. When he ascends 
to heaven before Anu, thanks to the good oflices of the gods Tammuz and 



[58] 



THE LOSS OF PARADISE 

Gkhzida, Anu is propitiated and orders that the bread and water of life be 
presented to him along with other gifts. Remembering Ea's counsel, he, all 
un-witting of what he does, refuses the priceless food and drink to the astonish- 
ment of the great Anu. He thus loses the opportunity to become immortal, 
and is taken back from the heaven of Anu to the earth again. Cf. Gunkel, 
Gen.», 38; Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 47ff, where Adapa is tenta- 
tively equated with Hebrew " Adam." Adapa is represented as a perfect 
man of the highest wisdom. 

For further parallels to the Paradise story, cf . Skinner, 93, 94. 

On the history of interpretation as related to the narrative in Gen. 3, cf. 
Ryle, Gen. 62ff. 



[59] 



CHAPTER VI 

GENERAL FEATURES OF THE NARRATIVES 

CONCERNING CREATION AND 

PARADISE 



CHAPTER VI 

GENERAL FEATURES OF THE NARRATIVES 
CONCERNING CREATION AND PARADISE ^ 

The Question ^^ ^^^ ^^^ accounts of Creation which 

A th"^hi^ • Grenesis furnishes there are differences 

Gen. 1:1— which preclude the possibiUty of one 

^' * original authorship for both narratives. 

Features of There is much more regard for artistic 

the First impression in Gen. 1:1 — 2 : 4a than there 

Account: . . , . i • i <» n o n^i • 

Gen. 1:1— IS in the narrative which follows.^ This is 
seen in the orderly numbering of the crea- 
tive days with the same formula in each case,^ and 
in the repetition of other set forms of expression, 
such as, ^* and God said,''^ ^' and God saw that it was 
good,^'^ '' and God called '''; '' and God blessed.'^^ 
The repetition of given words is possibly an artistic 
device; e. g., '^ light,^' five times in vs. 3-5; '^ dark- 
ness,'^ three times in vs. 2-5; ^^ waters,'' five times 
in vs. 6-7; '^ firmament," four times in vs. 7-8, 
cf. also '^ earth," four times (10-12), ^^ seed," four 
times (11-12), ^^ lights," ^Might," five times (14-16), 
and other instances which might be noted. The 
same general method of procedure is adhered to in 
each day: the Creator utters His creative word; 
the created result appears; it is inspected and pro- 
nounced good. Care is exercised to observe an 
ascending order in the acts of Creation and to pre- 
pare the conditions required by each stage of existence. 
Without light there can be no order. Hence, the 
creation of light is the first act of the Creator in 

[63] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

reducing the primeval chaos to an orderly universe. 
The next step is to separate^ heaven and earth, so as 

to proceed with the furnishing of the latter 
A^SglS'ent with all that properly appertains to it. The 
tfv?Ac?r*" third step is the preparation of dry land 

and the introduction of vegetation. The 
fourth step is the preparation of the celestial lights 
before the creation of creatures having organs of 
vision. The fifth step sees the creation of the lower 
animals and other animals more remote from man, 
namely, those of the waters and the air. The final 
stage brings, to begin with, the animals required 
for man's service and, thereafter, as the result of a 
special council of Divine beings,^ the creation of 
human beings in both sexes. ^^ In the place of the 
Creator this godlike human race is to have rule over 
the earth and all its creatures and to subject the whole 
to its will, which is presumably the will of the Creator, 
likewise. ^^ The manner of the creative process is 
quite remote from our ways of thinking, and in that 
respect differs from the manner of the Creator's 
activity in the next chapter, where the Divine work- 
man proceeds as a human artificer would, trying experi- 
ments, moulding, planting, placing, building, etc.^^ 

In addition to differences of form, 
^ffe/ences material differences between the first, or 
Accounrs*^® Priestly narrative, ^^ and the second, or 

Jehovistic narrative, ^^ are obvious. In 
the Priestly narrative vegetation is created long 
before man;^^ in the Jehovistic narrative it is 
said that there could be no vegetation until man 
had been created (2 : 5) ; the Priestly narrative has 
the order animals, man^^; the Jehovist reverses this 
order ^^; in the former, human beings are created in 
both sexes at once; in the latter, the male alone is 

[64] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

created and the creation of woman is an afterthought 
of the Creator; in the former, man and animals simply 
come to be because of the direct will of God; in the 
latter both man and animals are moulded by the 
Divine Workman out of clay^^; the Priestly author 
knows a great deal about the sea, but large rivers are 
not familiarly known; the Jehovistic writer has great 
rivers in his thought and thinks of the seas as simply 
wider portions of these; in the vision of the Priest, 
the ideal dominion of man over the world is in view; 
in the vision of the Jehovist the ideal blessedness of 
man in the world. 

The concep- Returning to the account of the Priestly 
goiiof. . narrator exclusively, we shall understand 
the Priestly his point of view better as we recall that 
^^^ he describes his account as ^' the genera- 

tions of the heavens and the earth'' (2 :4a),^^ so 
that in some sense he must have considered the 
creative process as a series of " begettings," much as 
his subsequent '* generations " of Adam (5 : Iff), 
Noah (6 : 9),^^ the sons of Noah (10 : passim), Shem 
(11 : lOff), Terah (11 : 27), Ishmael (25 : 12ff), Isaac 
(25 : 19), Esau (36 : Iff) were assuredly thought of 
as such. It is hardly hazardous to say that the 
'' seven days " are fancifully regarded as each a 
generational and that a number of pairs which are 
brought into the process of creation stand in some 
relation to the conception of Divine " begetting.' 
There are heaven and earth, the Spirit of God and the 
Deep, 22 Tohu and Bohu (E. V. waste and void), 
man, male and female. The earth is to '' cause to go 
forth " the growing things (vd. Skinner, 23), which 
in turn are to propagate their kind by means of their 
seeds. The waters ^' beget '' by swarming with the 
aquatic creatures. The earth is, also, to '^ cause to 

[65] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

go forth '' the land animals. To both animals and 
man is specially given a command to reproduce their 
own *' kind '' or species. ^^ 

The Priestly account of the Creation 
s?uff^°tife assumes the previous existence of the 
sto^*^^ matter of the universe as a chaos, described 

by the words " Tohu '' and '' Bohu/' This 
is more particularly described as the *' Tehom ''^^ 
or the Watery Deep taken together with a superin- 
cumbent darkness. Within the '^ Tehom '^ or Deep, 
is the material of the ^^ dry land/' which '^ appears'' 
as the waters are removed from it later on in the 
creative work.^^ This primeval chaotic world-stuff 
plays a part in many mythological cosmogonies. 
Sometimes, it is represented as a great monster who 
is opposed to the Divine powers of order and light^^; 
sometimes, it is an inert watery mass out of which, 
when acted upon by Divine forces, all things arise. -^ 
Something like this occurs in our narrative, where 
the preliminary step coming before the appearance of 
light is the brooding or fluttering of the Spirit of 
God as a bird over the face of the '* Tehom." 

In the first narrative there are apparently 
The Twofold two divisions of three days each and at the 

Division of the i r ^ ^ n no 

Priestly Story head of each, on the first ^^ and fourth days 
respectively, stands a creation of light. 
(Vd. supra p. 75, n. 21.) The dual creation of light 
finds a parallel in the Babylonian Creation Myth in 
which the light-god Marduk brings light into the world, 
and later places the celestial luminaries in the vault 
of heaven. There, as in the Hebrew narrative, the 
firmament is a solid structure. In Gen. 8 : 2 (P), 
^' windows " in the solid firmament let down upon the 
earth in the form of rain the " waters " which are 
above the firmament. ^^ 

[66] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

In the record of the fourth day's work (Gen. 1 : 
14-19) there is a survival of old Babylonian astral 
The Special theology. The Creator made the '* greater 
si^ficance Hght/' the suu, '^ to rule the day '' and ''the 
pay's Work lesser light/' the moon, '' to rule the night.'' 
Whether this implies anything more than 
the use of a conventional form of words is doubtful, but 
in the mythology of other nations it would mean that 
the sun and moon were identified with divine beings. ^^ 
There is in the Hebrew account an indication of a 
very special kind suggesting the purposes for which 
the heavenly bodies were created, namely: to mark 
off the night from the day, to afford means of pre- 
paring the calendar, ^^ to give notice of the feasts and 
other appointments of the sacred year, to furnish 
signs by means of which the secret and the future 
might be known, ^^ and to give light to the creatures 
having organs of vision. (Vd. supra p. 38.) 

In both Gen. 1 and the second nar- 
cSfce^^Ihe rative in Gen. 2 the giving of names to 
NaSJX^^ various items in the creative result is a 
matter of definite record: 1:5, 8, 10; 
2 : 19, 23; cf. 5 : 1. In the mythologies of the nations 
names sometimes play a significant part in the creation 
stories. ^^ The gift of a name carries with it the powers 
and prerogatives of the object which bears it.^^ 

At the close of the six days' work of 
The Creator's creation God rested on the seventh day 

Rest on the . r> i 

Seventh Day and ou that accouut blessed and sanctified 
it. It is not said that God ordained the 
seventh day as a Sabbath in the technical religious 
sense, but the use of the Hebrew verb ^' shabbath " 
(" to cease from a task, to rest ") with reference to 
the seventh day is suggested by the Sabbath institu- 
tion already existing among the Hebrews. ^^ 

[67] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

The second of the two Genesis narratives has its 
interest mainly in the creation and earhest history 
THE SECOND ^^ ^lan. It is not an independent narra- 
cREATioN tive, but a part of a larger piece of narration, 
Dogmatic ^ Gcn. 2 I 4b — 4 : 26, 5 : 29,^^ which would 
set forth how man, having been created in 
happy innocence, lost his innocence and also his 
blessedness through his self-assertive desire for wis- 
dom. As the arts and conveniences of human life 
multiplied and men became less dependent upon the 
direct bounty of the Creator, the sin of self-assertion 
increased, life became toilsome and strife between 
men was intensified.^^ The dogmatic interest of the 
prophetic author is sufficiently evident. 

In the account of man's creation it is 
Tjie Creation showu that man has a dual nature; one 

of Man in i . i i • i ^ r i j i 

Gen. 2 part, his body, is made out of clay, the 

Creator fashioning it as a potter makes 
his vessel; the other part, the invisible life-soul 
portion, ^^ is part of the Creator's own life-soul breathed 
into man at the beginning of his career. 

It was the intention of the Creator that 
nnmStauty the gift of the life-soul should remain in man 
and that man should be immortaP^; but 
owing to sin the Creator withdrew the gift,^ and man's 
body left without its active and preservative principle 
would have disintegrated and returned to the ground 
from whence it was taken. This account of the first 
creation of man is suggested by observation of the 
common facts of life and death among men. 
THE PRiMi- -^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^* ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ called Eden, 
TORY^I" ^^^ prepared a garden of trees and placed 
MAN: Gen. man therein."*^ His first occupation was 
the dressing and keeping of the trees of 
this Garden of God. Into the Garden flowed a 

[68] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

great world-river which as it issued from the Garden 
divided into the four great streams which divide and 
surround different parts of the world. ^^^ By God's 
permission man might eat of all the fruits of the 
Garden,^^ but over against this wide permission there 
was a single specific prohibition, on the observance of 
which the permanence of God's gift of life to man 
depended. ^'^ The generous freedom given man v/as 
but very slightly conditioned. 

The need of social satisfactions for 
Creation of man led to the creation of the land and air 
Gen. 2 creaturcs who were brought into close 

relation with man and received their names 
only as man gave them. Sufficiently intimate and 
intelligent social life not being found for man in the 
companionship of animals the Creator was led to 
provide for the increase of the human species and for 
the adequate social satisfaction of man by the crea- 
tion of woman, who is a derivative human being 
taken from man himself. The relationship intro- 
duced by the creation of woman takes precedence in 
its rights and duties over every other human relation- 
ship. The account has no thought of giving special 
sanction to the institution of the matriarchate or to 
monogamous marriage. ^^ 

ParaUeis ^* ^^^ ^^^^ suggcsted in the preceding 

^etween the discussiou that there was a likeness between 
Babylonian features of these two Hebrew cosmogonies 
osmogomes ^^^ parts of the Babylonian Creation Myth. 
The myth of Creation is presented in varying forms in 
Babylonian literature and there are parallels between 
elements of the Hebrew story and elements in these 
divergent accounts.^^ It seems sufficient to say that 
both Hebrew authors (or schools?) were familiar 
with the Babylonian myths of Creation and con- 

[69] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

sciously modified these older foreign views in the 
framing of their own narratives. The description of 
the creation of man in Gen. 2 : 7, furnishes analogies 
with accounts coming to us from two distinct Baby- 
lonian sources. In one of these,^^ man is created by 
a god^^ out of clay which has been mingled with the 
blood of the Creator Marduk. In a second source 
human beings are created by Marduk and the Mother- 
goddess Aruru-Ishtar out of clay^^ according to an 
image of the heaven-god Anu which the goddess 
has in her mind. The mode of creation is by working 
clay and trimming it to the form desired. ^^ The 
Babylonians like the Hebrews recognized that the 
vital-ps3^chical element in man w^as in an intimate 
w^ay related to the same element in the gods.^^ Among 
the Hebrews the life-soul (nephesh) might be identi- 
fied with the breath, but it was, nevertheless, in the 
blood. The coming and going of the blood carried 
with it the coming and going of the breath. 
Theincom- The sccoud Gcnesis account offers no 
Fralr^entary ^^^^ story of the Creation and probably 
thlTe^cond^ uever did. What we have, moreover, is 
Creation but a fragment, the beginning of which has 

not been utilized by the editor of the Book 
of Genesis and is no longer extant. ^^ 

Did the editor of Genesis think of these 
N&TTaiives stoHcs as Scientific accounts of creation? 
Purpose? ^^ Scientific consistency is not a serious 

factor with a man who could combine 
P^s view of Moses and his work with that of earlier 
sources. We may allow that for him both stories 
reflect facts and may be reconciled, if one interpret 
with a view to reconciling them. Foi^ us each story 
contains elements impossible to a scientific view and 
each story so contradicts the other that both cannot 

[70] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

be true. The stories are products of the universal 
myth-making faculty, which attempts to take up 
phenomena into a comprehensive explanation, cast, 
indeed, in the forms of the creative imagination, but 
reflecting the profoundest and most dynamic behefs 
of the inventor's soul. Thus myths are generally 
of profound religious significance and interest. It 
is to be expected that myths submitted to a long 
process of criticism, as these were, would at many 
points approach a scientific viewpoint. ^' The Bibli- 
cal cosmogony gives us a representation of folklore 
not in its early, crude and superstitious form, but as 
it was shaped and adapted to be the vehicle of religious 
thought, in accordance with the needs of a much 
later age, with the teachings of the Hebrew prophets, 
and the monotheistic worship of Jehovah.^'^^ 
THE "FALL ^^ *^^ prophetic writer J's account of 
G^n^^^Gen *^^ creatiou of man it is shown that the 
eraisignifi- Creator provided richly for man's happi- 
ness, for his occupation, for his companion- 
ship, for his moral culture, and for the continuance 
of human life on the earth without the painful neces- 
sity of birth.^^ In the account of the '' Fall " the 
same writer shews how man by self-assertion ruined 
his happiness, brought hardship into his labor, intro- 
duced strife into his social jrelations, made moral 
culture exceedingly difficult, and established the 
necessity of child-birth ^^ because of the new fact 
of death. 

The agent of the Fall is " a beast of the 
The Tempter field " (Gen. 3 1 1), and the wisest of them. 
Appeal the serpent, ^^ who at this primitive time 

walks upright. Like all other beasts 
he is on intimate terms with Adam and Eve and em- 
ploys a speech which they understand." He ad- 

[71] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

dresses to the woman the temptation because she is 
the less informed one of the human pair.^^ His 
argument is: God has declared that to know is to 
invite trouble and death; but God Himself knows all 
things, and yet is subject to neither trouble nor 
death; God must know that to eat of the fruit of 
the Tree which bestows knowledge of Good and Not- 
good can bring only good. The temptation is the 
great typical one which meets and ruins men every- 
where, viz: the temptation to believe that knowledge 
of things as they are will bring Divine illumination, 
efficiency, and satisfaction. Such, in the view of the 
Prophetic writer, is the fatally subtle appeal which 
the whole world knows. He thinks the conclusion 
drawn to be false to facts. Rather, has knowledge 
made life toilsome, full of pain, full of strife. Above 
and beyond all, there is the craving to prove the 
deepest mystery of human existence^^ — its origin — 
which has brought untold sorrow to men. That is 
the thought of the author. The writer, in his view 
of the event of the Fall, is influenced by his philo- 
sophical position as to the origin of sin and 
trouble, but he is not simply an artist composing 
an allegory as a literar}^ medium for the conveying 
of certain practical teachings. He looks upon him- 
self, rather, as an historian, though he has no such 
serious notion of his obligations as a modern writer 
would have. 

Before his loss of Paradise man in the 
l^Bea^^^^^ Garden has free access to the Tree of 
Life and immortality is assured him.^^ 
When he falls, the attainment of immortality can 
no longer be by the original gift of the Creator, and 
access to the Tree of Life is denied to him. Man 
is shut up now to the sentence of death. 

[72] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

The choice before Adam and Eve, as before every 

man, is the choice between a true moral attitude, 

maintained in spite of everything that 

o?the^chofce would Compete with it, and an attitude 

of desire^ ^ which is indifferent to duty. 

It is clear that to the author the Fall implies moral 

wrong-doing. The disobedience is a wrong thing; 

it brings a sense of guilt; it entails fear of God; it 

causes a feeling of shame^^; it leads to self-excuse. 

At the same time, the writer is conscious 
S^^^^ ^ . that man, by following his self-assertive 

Recorded in . \ 10 i- i^i 

Gen. 3 desire to know and act for himseli has 

made what he after all may consider to be 
gains. His happy dependence upon the free-growing 
bounty of nature is exchanged for an agricultural 
mode of life by which man proves himself the lord 
of the soil. His food is enriched thus in its variety. 
He has learned to clothe himself^^ and has invented 
some rudimentary social conventions. He has ceased 
to be a care-free child and become a contestant 
battling in a strife. Wisdom has come to him and 
arts will come with wisdom. But with it all comes 
ever-growing sorrow and vanity. He has had his 
eyes opened to know both good and evil.^^ 

The woman has won knowledge of a 
to^e^om^ deep Divine mystery and will have her 
own great honor but always through pain 
and cost. She, too, will know good and also evil. 
There is no complaint against the Creator's action. 
He has been just and in the deferring of death 
for a time shews Himself disposed to be merciful 
as well. 

Jehovah as He appears in the story of the Fall is 
the same naively conceived being as in J's story of 
the Creation. He walks in His Garden in the early 

[73] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

morning, He misses the human pair and not knowing 
where they are, calls loudly in hope of answer, the 

human pair are concealed from Him, He 
TheConcep- asks qucstious for information, He makes 
in Gen. 3 garments of skins and places them about 

the human pair. He is jealous of the man's 
knowledge, and therefore drives man out of His 
Garden and sets guards at the gate. (Vd. supra 
p. 53ff.) 

NOTES ON CHAPTER VI 

1 In this chapter some matters already discussed are again taken up in order 
that some new aspects of special importance may be noticed. 

2 In reality, in its unstudied freedom and play of imagination the second 
account is in the highest degree artistic. Cf . Skinner, 5 If. 

3 Vs. 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. 

* Vs. 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29; a similar expression occurs in the 
second account only in 2 : 18. 

s Vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, not found in the second narrative. 

6 Vs. 5, 8, 10 bis. 

' Vs. 22, 28; 2 : 3. 

® /* m^^It wayyabhdil, " and he diAdded," is applied to the separation 
of light from darkness, and of heavenly waters from the terrestrial waters, 
both of which are essential, the former to the ordering of the primeval chaos 
generally, the latter to the ordering of the earth. A further division of the 
universe is indicated without the use of wayyabhdil, ** and he divided," namely, 
the separation of land and sea by the gathering (yiqqdwii) of the waters into 
one place. These three separations: Light and darkness, heaven and earth, 
sea and land, are thought of as preparatory conditions to life on the earth. 
To these vast cosmic phenomena God Himself gives names; possibly the 
naming of the minor phenomena is thought to be left to man (cf . J, 2 : 19, etc) . 

s Cf. " and Elohim said, * Let us make man in our image, etc., * " 1 : 26, 
also 3 : 22; 11:7; Isa. 6 : 8; Jeremias, ATAO2, 171f ; supra p. 41, n. 20. 

10 A single pair? Vd. Gen. 5 : Iff ; supra p. 42, n. 24. 

11 Good as was the world as it was created, man entered it to find a task 
awaiting him. He must look upon the whole as material and means for a 
creative activity of his own. Mitchell, W. B. A., 11 If. Note that the life 
of the animal creation is not at man's disposal. Gen. 1 : 29 (nor may animala 
destroy Ufe). For a comparison of P's account with scientific conclusions, 
vd. Mitchell, op. cit., 116f. 

12 Cf. with these the staple expressions of the first account: God " creates," 
" makes," ** speaks " or " commands," and the desired result appears. Vd. 
Dillmann, Genesis^, 40-41; Driver, Genesis^, 35f. Gunkel, IJrg. and P., 
110, thinks that these different expressions in Gen. 1 represent different modes 
of operation and point to composite authorship. His conclusion seems to 
press verbal differences too far. Composite authorship is, however, more 
plausibly suggested by such duplicates as 2 : 1, 2 : 2a. Skinner, Gen. 8. 

12 This, as being derived from the Priestly source employed in the Hexa- 
teuch, is to be designated the Priestly Narrative of the Creation. 

1* This belongs to the Jehovistic Prophetic source which alone uses the 
Divine name Jehovah between Gen. 2 and Ex. 3. 

A5 Vegetation, third day; man, sixth day. 

^^ Water, man, trees, animals, woman is J's order. He omits any particular 
account of light, heaven, land and sea, heavenly bodies, plants, fishes. Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 4. 



[74] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

1^ In his view, animals are made because the Creator has seen that man in 
his soUtude lacks something of blessing, 2 : 18, 19. The Babjdouian Creation 
story places the creation of animals after that of man in at least one late ver- 
sion, KB. vi, p. 40, 11. 19-30. But in the great poem of creation " Enuma ^li§ " 
the order is animals and then man, KAT3, 585f . 

18 Prom the conception of the image of God in which man, male and female, 
is created according to P it would be impossible to exclude the ** body." Vd. 
supra 38 : 6, Gunkel, Urg. and P., 106. 

According to P the " image " is not lost in Adam's descendants, vd. Gen. 
9 : 6, cf. 5 : 3. 

i» Such titles in P usually stand at the head of the passage concerned . 
Here the title comes at the end. Probably, it has been moved from before 
1 : 1 by an editor, vd. supra p. 39, n. 1; Dillmann, Gen.^, 39. 

^ The Ust has not been preserved. 

21 Gunkel, Urg. and P., 101. The days do not correspond to the creative 
acts which seem to be as follows: 1. Light. 2. Heaven. 3. Land and Sea. 
4. Plants. 5. Lights. 6. Fish and sea monsters and fowl. 7. Land animals. 
8. Men. The Rabbinical tradition knew of ten works; P. Aboth 5:1. Most 
moderns give a list of eight works. Skinner, Gen. 8. 

The two divisions of the Creative Period and their parallels are here shown: 
I II 

Day 1 — Light Day 4 — Lights 

Day 2 — Waters divided Day 5 — Waters peopled 

Heaven placed Fowl of heaven 

Day 3 — Earth prepared Day 6 — Earth peopled 

Vegetation Vegetation as- 

signed as food 
This day scheme is original in Hebrew, though a suggestion of it may have 
come from the Babylonian Epic of Creation with its seven tablets. Many 
have found in the dual principle of works on the one hand and days on the other 
evidence of an older original adapted to a new arrangement. It does not seem 
necessary to assume more than that a current doctrine of creation which recog- 
nized eight acts of the Creator was accepted as a matter of course by P. The 
doctrine perhaps included a division of the acts into two parallel groups. The 
uniformity of style and thought seems to preclude an interweaving of two 
literary sources or the adoption by P of matter from a wTitten document. 
Skinner, Gen. 9f. The second Creation account speaks of the creation of 
heaven and earth as occupying one day (2 : 4b) . Gunkel, Gen. 3, 5. 

22 The Hebrew nCiTlTO. merahepheth, seems to imply a motion as of a 
bird hovering, though possibly in the present case the special meaning of 
" brooding " as on a nest is intended. As the effect of the brooding is not 
made clear, one must suppose that the allusion represents a fragment from 
an old Creation myth. Cf . Dillmann, Genesis ^, in loc. ; Gunkel, Urg. and P, 
102; vd. supra p. 40, n. 7. There are several other indications of borrowings 
from an older source, cf. Tohti wabohti, Tehom, etc. Gunkel, op. c. 110. 

23 It seems that the distinct command to produce 1 : 11, 1 : 20 (cf. Mother 
Earth), impUes the gift of a new power to things already created; and similarly 
in the case of the command to animals and man to reproduce their kind. 
Cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 105, vd. above p. 40, n. 18, 19, 23. J does not think 
of man as reproducing his kind before he sinned. 

2* In the Babylonian Creation Myth this name in the form " Tiamat " is 
found as that of the primeval chaos monster who is identical with the turbulent 
Deep. 

25 Psa. 104 : 6. 

26 A conception reflected in Babylonian mythology and indeed in many 
passages of the Old Testament and in other Jewish cosmogonies, cf . Job. 26 : 7fl. 

27 So in the Rig Veda, cf. Bertholet, ReUgionsgeschichtliches Lesebuch, 
155f ; for Egypt, Chantepie de la Saussaye, L. R. G., i, 146. 

28 The difficulty of dividing between night and day before the appearance 
of the heavenly bodies was simply not understood. Cf. Isa. 60 : 19f ; Zech. 
14 : 6, 7; Rev. 21 : 23, 22 : 5; 2 Ezra 6 : 40. 

2® In the Hebrew conception of the firmament it rested on pillars. Job 26 : 11. 
In the *' upper waters " Jehovah lays the beams of his " upper chambers," 
Psa. 104 : 3; Psa. 78 : 23f, the manna is rained down through the " doors of 



[75] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

heaven," In Babylonian mythology the windows and doors of the heavenly 
vault are provided with bolts and bars and celestial guardians are appointed 
to open and close them. Vd. Jastrow, R, 13. A., 428, 435; cf. Jeremias, ATAO^, 
17G. Vd. supra 37 : 1. 

^" von Baudissin points out (Stud. Sem. Rel., i, 120f) that the creation of 
these heavenly bodies is placed at tlie head of the second section of the creative 
work in which only animated creatures appear. Cf. Deut. 4 : 19; Isa. 40 ; 20; 
Job 38 : 7, and especially Gen. 2:1; Judg. 5 : 20; Jeremias, ATAO^, 166. 

31 Cf. Jastrow, R. B. A., 434. 

3^ Joel. 2 : 10, 30f. 

'•'^ Cf. the last canto of the Babylonian Creation Epic, which is largely given 
over to the investiture of the Creator, Marduk, with honorific names. 

^4 Cf. the name of Jehovah, God of Israel, as declared by Himself, Ex. 34 : 6. 
Vd. Gunkel, Urg. and P, 103. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.^, 11. 

'^ The Sabbath institution among the Hebrews is much older than this 
tn;dition of P as to the Creation. The institution originates in a regard for 
the number seven as sacred (because connected with the seven planets?) and 
is probably as old as the seven day week. The Sabbath conception of P with 
its stress on the negative aspects of Sabbath keeping is probably influenced to 
a considerable extent by Babylonian views of the seventh day; Gunkle, Urg. 
and P., 108, cf. Zimmern, KAT^, 592fT. The seventh day was called Sapattu 
among the Babylonians, and in one case was clearly connected with the new 
moon. The days were days when one must take special care not to displease 
the gods. This implied abstention from many common acts. Cf. H. D. B., 
Sabbath; McNeile, Exodus, 12 Iff; Jeremias, ATAO2, 184 ff. Cf. 40ff. Vd. 
supra p. 42, n. 29. 

33 This larger narrative is made up of passages taken from different sources 
e. g., 2 : 10-14, 3 : 22-24, 4 : 12b-15, etc., are not of a piece with their 
respective contexts. Vd. supra p. 48, n. 9. Cf. p. 46f, 85, n. 1. 

37 Cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 52; Gen. 3, p. 1. 

^® tu^^." nephesh," Gen. 2 : 7, a factor embracing both the vital and spiritual 
elements. The same principle for primitive man as causes motion and change 
in the world without, Gunkel, Urg. and P., 56. Vd. supra p. 40, n. 22. 

39 Gordon, E. T. G., 152. 

'^^ (a) Gen. 6:3. In 3 : 22-24 it is intimated that the man who by sin has for- 
feited the right to immortality, by reason of his knowledge of good and evil may 
find and partake of the Tree of Life and regain what he has lost. This restora- 
tice function of the " life plant " is an aspect emphasized elsewhere, e. g., 
Prov. 13 : 12, 15 : 4; Ezek. 47 : 12; Rev. 2:7, 22 : 2; Enoch 25 : 4f ; 
2 Ezr. 8 : 52, and in the ethnic myths, cf. Philpot, The Sacred Tree, 130-1. 
If this aspect be that in the thought of J, there is no conflict between an original 
gift of immortality and later the possible regaining of immortality by partaking 
of the Tree of Life. This holds even if plurality of sources in Gen. 3 be estab- 
lished. Cf. Skinner, 52. 

(b) Some modern commentators question the place of the Tree of Life in 
the original accounts of the Garden. Two trees are named in 2 : 9, but in 
2 : 17, 3 : 3, 6, 11, only the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is men- 
tioned. Hence, it is claimed that " the Tree of Life " in 2 : 9 represents a 
later addition. But, as we have said, both trees may be looked for in God's 
Garden. The one that may not be touched by childlike human beings is, of 
course, the Tree of Dangerous Knovvdedge. When immortality has been 
forfeited (3 : 17-19), the recovery of it lies in the decision of the Divine Owner 
of the Garden as to whether the now mortal pair shall remain there and in 
due course find the other tree, the Tree of Life. The definite article in 3 : 3 , 
etc., looks back to 2 : 17, not to 2 : 9. Vd. supra p. 48, n. 10. Cf. Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 16f. 

41 Eden used to be taken as a coined name, " Pleasant Land ** (vd. Dillmann, 
Genesis^, 55f). It is, perhaps, better to think of it as the Sumero-Assyrian 
" edinCl', the uncultivated steppe," which the Plebrew writer has regarded as 
a proper nam.e, Zimmern, KAT3 527ff ; Jeremias, ATAO2 188; Mitchell, 
WBA, 123f. 

42 The vs. Gen. 2 : 10-14 are secondary. They are however a part of the 
story as revised and expanded. Vd. supra p. 48, n. 9. 

43 Evidently, the fruit of the Life tree was included, cf. 3 :22 (contra Mitchell, 



[76] 



CREATION AND PARADISE 

WBA, 125f). No such " wonder garden " would be without its '* Tree of 
Life," cf. Rev. 2:7, 22 : 2; Dillmann, Genesis^, in loc. Cf. Jeremias, 
ATA02, 201f. Both Gen. 1 and Gen. 2 represent primitive man as vegetarian. 

** He might not eat of the fruit of the tree which conferred the power to 
distinguish Good from Not-good. Did he do so he would rival Deity (3 : 22). 
Much fruitless speculation has sought to determine the kind of tree represented 
by this forbidden fruit. Judging from Gen. 3 : 6 it had no other name known 
to men than^*"*,* 2*iw n>*n Vi? 'ets hadda'ath tobh wara' ( = the tree of the 
knowing of good and evil). The Tree of Life also belonged to no earthly 
species, Rev. 22 : 2. 

45 Mitchell, WBA, 139f . 

46 Vd. Skinner, 45ff, Driver, 27ff, Ryle, Gen. 43. e. g. (1) The watery chaoa 
(Hebr. Tehom, Babyl'n Tiamat). 

(2) The primeval darkness. 

(3) The earth when created bringing forth vegetation (cf . Berosus) . 

(4) The spirit and the waters (the mingUng of the waters of Apsu and Tid- 
mat). 

(5) The ive in the creation of man (cf . Bel-Marduk and the god who decap- 
itates him in the account of Berosus). Cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 115. 

(6) Light before heavenly bodies. 

(7) The solid firmament as a divider between upper and lower waters. 

On the subject generally, cf. Jastrow, Hebr. and Bab'n Traditions, Chap. XL 

47 That reported by Berosus. 

48 Possibly, Marduk himself. 

49 Ishtar w^as called the " Potter " or " Modeller " as the fashioner of man- 
kind, KAT3, 429. Most commonly Ea is thought to be the Father or Creator 
of Mankind in the older Babylonian accounts, KAT3, 506, 586. 

50 KAT3, 506. 

51 Both in Hebrew and Babylonian, the man is in the likeness of God. The 
body is made after a Divine image and is vivified by Divine blood or breath. 
Cf. Gordon, E. T. G., 143ff. 

52 Dillmann, Genesis, in loc; Skinner, 51. ^ _ 

53 H. E. Ryle, Genesis, p. xxxiii; cf, p. xxxviiif. for a just appreciation of the 
purpose and value of the early narratives in Genesis. 

54Jub. 3:34. 

55Jub. 1. c. Apoc. Mos. 1. (Kautzsch, ii, 514). As has been pointed out (supra 
p. 55, n. 1) the purpose of the narrative in Gen. 3 is to explain misfortune 
rather than sin. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 67. 

56 (a) Vd. supra p. 55, n. 2. The serpent is not identified with the Devil as 
the Prince of Evil until we pass out of the Old Testament into the Apocrypha 
and the New Testament, Wisd. 2 : 24, 3 : 1; John 8 : 44; cf. Rev. 12 : 9, 20 : 2. 
Vd. Mitchell, WBA, 142f ; Dillmann, Gen. 6, 69ff . 

(b) The wisdom of the Serpent, vd. Matt. 10 : 16; 2 Cor. 11:3. 

57 Jub. 3 : 28. Cf. Apoc. Mos. 16ff. (Kautzsch, ii, 520f); cf. Num. 22: 28f. 

58 Dillmann, Gen.e, 72. The woman herself had not heard the Divine 
prohibition, Gen. 2 : 16, 17. but cf . paraphrase supra, p. 53. 

59 (a) Vd. supra p. 56, n. 6. This is the meaning of the woman's tempting 
Adam, of the sense of shame which followed the act, and of the curse put upon 
the woman. In Jewish theology the temptation to eat the fruit of the tree 
was prepared for by an appeal of the Tempter to passion in the woman, 
Weber, Jiidische Theol.2, 219. 

(b) It should not be lost sight of that the recognition of sexual capacities 
is attributed in the story to the effect of the fruit which was eaten. The 
author in thus representing the result is a conscious allegorist setting forth 
famihar facts in metaphorical guise. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, ig. 

60 Rel. in Gesch. u. Gegenw., Art. Baum d. Erkenntniss, I, 954f. There is 
a seeming inconsistency between an original gift of immortal life by the Divine 
inbreathing of the life-soul and an immortahty to be acquired by eating of the 
fruit of the Tree of Life. In truth, two hypotheses of the source of immortality 
might appear to be blended in Gen. 2 and 3. Gordon, E. T. G., 154f. The 
harmony appears to lie in the fact that man feels a need of the Tree of Life 
only to regain a lost immortahty. Cf. supra p. 58, n. 20. Cf. p. 48, n. lOf. In 
the Gilgamesh Epic the maiden Sabitu tells the hero, who seeks " life " for his 

[77] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

diseased body, that the goda when they created man fixed death as his fate; 
Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 211. 

•1 Especially, of desire to know. Vd. supra. Gordon, E. T. G., 156fT, 
but Gordon takes too little account of the physical aspects of the Fall, vd. 
next note, cf. Gen. 3 : 16. The consequences are physical with tremendous 
moral implications. 

•' The shame is connected by the narrator with the act of eating the fruit, 
but it is sure that it has also to do with the nakedness of the human pair, Gen . 
2 : 25, 3 : lOf. In fact, the " knowledge " given by the fruit of the tree is 
related, beyond doubt, to some act which has quite changed the human view 
of the naked human body, Dillmann, Gen.e, 71f. 

•' Vd. supra p. 57, n. 18. Later, God made him a more adequate and per- 
manent body covering, i. e., the beginnings of all the permanent arts are of 
Divine inspiration. 

" Cf. Gordon, E. T. G., 158f. 



[78] 



CHAPTER VII 

THE INCREASE OF THE RACE AND THE 
INCREASE OF SORROW 



CHAPTER VII . 

THE INCREASE OF THE RACE AND THE 
INCREASE OF SORROW. Gen. 4 

Eve was given from Jehovah a son^ whose name 
she, in grateful joy, called Cain.^ After him she 

bore Abel.^ As these sons grew up, the 
the^Piimftive elder tilled the soil as his father had done, 
4 a-12^^^* while the younger followed a new calling, 

that of the shepherd. As crops were 
gathered and the flock increased each brought to 
Jehovah an offering, the one of the crop, the other of 
the firstling lambs, whose fat he presented (by burn- 
ing). The offering^ of Abel was accepted^ that of 
Cain was not. At this, Cain was angry, but Jehovah 
reproved him, reminding him that if he came without 
sin,^ his offering, too, would find acceptance. Later, 
Cain said to Abel, Let us go into the field, and while 
they were^ in the field he in anger slew Abel his brother. 
Jehovah, nevertheless, had heard the cry of the 
shed blood^ and enquired of Cain where Abel was. 
Cain denied any knowledge of him and Jehovah 
brought home to him his deed and laid on him a curse. 
The ground^^ which had received AbeFs blood will 
no longer yield its increase to Cain.^^ 

So he went away from the face of Je- 
^2 Gen. 4 ^6-24 hovah and dwelt in the land of Nod on the 
of the cainites east of Eden. There his wife^^ bore him 

a son whom he named Enoch. ^^ Cain 
built there the first city and named it Enoch after 
his son. The son of Enoch was ^Irad; 'Irad's son 
was Mehujael; MehujaeFs son was Methushael; 

[81] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

MethushaeFs son was Lamech. Lamech was the 
first who had more than one wife.^^ By his wife 
Adah (= Dawn?^^) he had a son Jabal,^^ who was the 
first to keep herds and flocks and to follow the wander- 
ing life of one who lives in tents. Adah had another 
son, Jubal, w^ho was the first musician. ^^ By his 
other wife, Zillah (= Shadow), Lamech had a son, 
Tubal-Cain,^^ who was the first to make weapons 
of bronze and iron.^^ Zillah had, also, a daughter, 
Naamah. Lamech it was who was wont to recite to 
his wives the following boast song. 

Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech; listen to my 

speech. 
A man I slew who merely wounded me, a boy merely 

for my bruise; 
If Cain were seven times avenged; then Lamech 

seventy and seven. ^^ 

Jehovah doomed Cain to be a fugitive^^ 
15. *cain among men and he complained that the 
fheD^teit22 punishment was too great to be borne. 
He was to be banished from the arable 
portion of the earth away from Jehovah's face,^* 
and as a fugitive stranger his life would be a prey to 
the first one who might capture him. Jehovah then 
mitigates the penalty so far as to put a tribal mark on 
Cain^^ and thus assure him of the protections^ of 
those who will fully avenge any harm which may be 
done him. 
r^ A oc o^ After Cain slew Abel God gave Adam 

Gen. 4 : 25-Zo , -r-i ^ i • f» j i 

Resumption and Eve a son who as makmg up tor the 
story in the ^ loss of Abel was Called Seth.ss Seth had a 
son Enosh in whose days men began the 
worship of Jehovah. ^^ 

[82] 



THE INCREASE OF THE RACE 

[And Lamech begat a son] and he called 
^Telndof his name Noah saying, This same shall 
Dlscei^of J) comfort (nihem)^^ us in the toil of our 

hands by reason of the ground which 
Jehovah hath cursed. 

GENERAL ^^^ race-mothcr brings children into 

NOTES ON the world and the avocations of men 

multiply. Of the first two sons the elder, 
Cain, follows the calling of his father Adam; 
the younger, Abel, takes up the new calling of 
a shepherd. In the Jehovist writer^s opinion, the 
calling of the shepherd is not as old as that of the 
tiller of the soil.^^ In the opinion of another Jehovist 
source, the shepherd does not appear in human 
history until the eighth generation (Gen. 4:20). 
In the process of time, it appeared that God shewed 
approval of the shepherd and gave no special sign of 
approval of the agriculturalist. The result was that 
hatred arose between the men of the two callings 
and the agriculturalist turned against his brother, the 
shepherd, and slew him. The sequel tries to shew 
apparently how the institution of blood-revenge had 
its origin; how through blood-shedding and the ex- 
communication from the kindred group which ensued 
the wandering Bedouin of the desert took their origin 
from men of settled habit of life^^; how the custom of 
asylum and that of clientage began. ^^ There are in- 
consistencies in the story, but 12b-15 is only a frag- 
ment, and complete consistency with the context is 
hardly to be looked for. It assumes a populated 
earth with its designated regions having names. 
It is not clear why Jehovah should spare Cain, an 
intentional murderer; and what harmony there is 
between the Cain of Gen. 4 : 12b-15 and the Cain of 
Gen. 4 : 12a or 16f cannot be made out. It seems as 

[83] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

though the verses 12b-15 were intended to account 
for the term '^ land of Nod '' (wandering) and thus 
account for the origin of the Bedouin. ^^ 

The genealogy of Cain's descendants in Gen. 4 : 16- 
24 represents an attempt to explain the further growth 
of civilization. Verse 16 is a continuation of verse 
12a.^^ As the result of a Divine curse upon him, 
Cain the tiller of the soil migrates to the Far East and 
there his race increases. He is there the builder of 
the oldest city.^^ Five generations from that time 
elapse and a social change is noted in the introduction 
of polygamy. In the sixth generation, new arts 
arise. The shepherd and herdsman enters, ^^ the 
musician and the worker in metals make a begin- 
ning.^^ With work in metals^^ comes the forging of 
weapons, and with that more strife and trouble, as 
the song of Lamech reveals (Gen. 4 : 23-24).^^ 

As Abel the man beloved of God has been slain 
God gives to Eve another son who is to share the 
Divine favor, likewise. To this son, Seth, is born 
Enosh, in whose time the worship of the Deity under 
the name Jehovah is begun.^^ This author was not 
aware of the inconsistency between this statement 
and that which reports that Cain and Abel made 
offerings to Jehovah previous to the time of Enosh. 
What was intended was to shew Enosh as continuing 
the acceptable worship of Abel, but the discrepancy 
between the sources has not been harmonized and 
Enosh appears as the one in whose time began the 
worship of Jehovah among men. 

It may be indication of conscious literary artifice 
when in these early chapters of Genesis we find the 
personages who figure in the narrative bearing names 
so closely suggestive of features in the stories them- 
selves :^2 Adam = [man from] the ground; Eve = 

[84] 



THE INCREASE OF THE RACE 

[bearer of] life; Cain = worker in iron or bronze, or 
[man of] the spear;* Abel = [man who is like] breath;*^ 
Seth = [man who is] appointed [by God]. We do not 
need to assume an allegorical purpose in the chapters 
merely because of these names. The feature just 
noted is indeed more suitable to myth making. What 
was more probably intended was to reconstruct the 
actual course of human hfe from the Creation onward. 
It should not be necessary to say that the Hebrew 
writer had no more material at his command for 
such an attempt than had been supplied by his own 
imagination or that of others, and that any thought of 
historical trustworthiness must be excluded. The 
peoples of the w^orld have attempted the same task 
and in every instance we do not hesitate to think of 
the result as pure myth. 



NOTES ON CHAPTER VII 

1 Gen. 4 contains many contradictions (vd. sequel) which require us to as- 
sume a pluraHty of sources of a similar character (J). There is a logical con- 
tinuity between Gen. 3 and Gen. 4 : l-12a, even though Abel introduces a 
new vocation, that of the shepherd. The true continuation of 4 : l-12a is, 
however, not given. The editor of J has pieced out the story of Cain and Abel 
in that passage with (1) a story of Cain's descent, vs. 16-24; (2) a story of the 
true descent from Adam through a substitute son, Seth, who is given by Jeho- 
vah in place of Abel, vs. 25-26. Neither story agrees with 4 : l-12a; cf. 
Abel a shepherd with Jabal, the first shepherd, and Cain and Abel worshippers 
of Jehovah with the first worshipper of Jehovah in the age of Enosh. There 
is, finally, a fragment of another Cain and Abel story in 4 : 12b-15. In this 
Cain a Bedawl is very different from the farmer Cain of 12a and the city builder 
of 17b. Cf. a different view in Gunkel, Urg. and P., 68; Gen.3, 40f. The 
story of Cain and Abel in both versions looks apparently to the explanation of 
how the Kenite tribe of Bedouin originated. If one ask how Kenites, who were 
worshippers of Jehovah, came to be brought under a curse we may recall that 
Cain worships Jehovah and is under Jehovah's protection, but is still not 
allowed to remain in the cultivated land where Jehovah's presence is 
found. Skinner, Gen., lllff, holds that a fusion of types accounts for Cain. 

Though there be logical continuity between Chap. 3 and 4 : l-12a and even 
verbal resemblances between them one will nevertheless discover a difference 
in the style of narration between the two. Note also that 2 : 4b — 3 : 24 
uses •* Jehovah God " while ch. 4 employs " Jehovah." In the former passage 
*' God " is probably a harmonistic addition to make the Creation stories more 
of a piece; but cf. Skinner, Gen. 2, 98-101. 

* Children were not begotten in the Garden of God; nor will they be in 
Paradise regained, according to Matt. 22 : 30 (Mark 12 : 25; Lk. 20 : 34-36). 
As far as man is concerned, the '* curses " of Gen. 3 seem to presuppose exclu- 
sion from Eden in order to their fulfilment, cf. Gunkel, Gen.s, 41. 



[85] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

'Explained as "gotten" or better "brought forth" (Dt. 32:6; Prov. 
8 : 22; Psa. 139 : 13; Gen. 14 : 19, 22) ; vd. Skinner, in loc. Ryle, Gen. 68f. 

The mother names the child as in J generally. The child was in theory 
at least the mother's property, Gunkel, 1. c. 

• Not explained. Probably = Jabal, " herdsman," cf. v. 20. Ryle, Gen. 69. 
6 Minhah is not usually a propitiatory offering. Here it is eucharistic ap- 
parently. Cf . Ryle, Gen. 70. 

• HoWt is not made known; why, vd. v. 7. Ordinarily confidence was felt 
that a sacrifice was accepted if the ritual of the sacrifice had been precisely 
observed. There was no need felt of any further sign. It is to be presumed 
that the words *' in process of time " cover a period of many years in the present 
instance. There was, no doubt, a Hebrew tradition which described Adam's 
relations to Jehovah after the " Fall." That this tradition may have included 
indications of the nature of acceptable sacrifice is suggested by 4 : 4 and by the 
words "if thou doest well ... if thou doest not well" in 4 : 7 (= " if thou 
offerest as thou knowest is right, etc.," which would imply, probably, the offer- 
ing of a firstling and the burning of its fat parts. There was felt to be no good 
reason why an agriculturalist should not do this as well as a shepherd. Cain 
would not. Therein lay his offence; cf. LXX, Gen. 4:7). For other interpreta- 
tions vd. Ryle, Gen. 71. 

' Text corrupt. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 43f. 

The special difficulty in v. 7 lies in the clause " sin coucheth at the door.** 
It has been assumed that the figure is that of a wild beast ready to spring; but 
the clause which follows is clearly a reminiscence of 3 : 16 and the figure is one 
of craving on the part of sin (even as the craving of the woman). Cain is 
allowing himself to be mastered by sin instead of mastering it. The word 
translated " coucheth " refers sometimes to persons reclining or lying down 
or to animals lying down in a fold or pasture. It does not naturally suggest 
a purpose to attack some one. To harmonize with the purpose of the writer, 
therefore, I venture to propose a somewhat bold reconstruction of the Hebrew 
text as follows: 
Massoretic text: 

^i::-':?r?:n nnxi inpr:;\n rpbxi y-"^ ^^"^^^ nnsb ::^::*n ^h c^5l 

Suggested emendation: ' ' ' 

l2-brr:n nnx^. 1npVii\*i ?j^!5N^. y^-i r.nx N::n r^:^th t^^^t\ )^h i2Ni 

Translation: And if thou doest not well, at (the) door of sin thou art lying, 
and toward thee is his desire; but thou shouldst rule over him. 

8 Emended, following the Samaritan and Versions. Kittel, Bibl. Hebr., in 
loc; cf. Ryle, Gen. 74f. 

• (a) Uncovered blood calls for vengeance. Job 16 : 18; Ezek. 24 : 7f ; 
W. Robertson Smith, R. S., 417, n. 5; cf. 1 Kgs. 21 : 19. 

(b) 4 : 10b. It is better to translate: " Listen! thy brother's blood is 
crying to me from the soil." Cf . Ryle, Gen. 74. 

10 (a) The recurring relation of the " ground " (adamah) to a curse on man 
(Adam) is noteworthy. Gen. 3 : 17-19, 4 : 10-12a. Cf. Gunkel, Urg. and 
P., 71; Genesis 3, 45. 

(b) 4 : 11a is an elliptical expression whose full sense seems to be: " And 
now cursed art thou in respect to what thou receivest from the ground." In 
Cain's case as in Adam's case it is a curse laid upon the soil which is the means 
of bringing a curse on the man. " From the ground " does not refer to Cain's 
expulsion. 

11 12b- 15 another version of the curse. The continuation of 12a is found in 
16-24 (by another hand). 

12 Cf . Skinner 122fif. The purpose of the genealogy is to account for the 
rise of certain features in human civilization: (1) cities; (2) the vocation of the 
nomad pastoral class; (3) the art of the musician and that of the smith. The 
author (J) in 11 : 1-9 holds the same view that the city group is a very early 
development. 

13 The Jewish legend makes her his sister, 'Awan, Jub. 4 : 1-9. 

** '^i^n Hanoch (Enoch); in Gen. 25 :4 this is given as the name^of a 
Midianite people. Midianites and Kenites are related, vd. Ex. 3 : 1, 18 : 1; 
Num. 10 : 29; Judg. 1 : 16. For Hnk as a Sabean tribe and Qenan as a 



[86] 



THE INCREASE OF THE RACE 

Sabean deity, cf. Skinner, 117. Hanoch (=Enoch) is the name of a Reubenite 
clan in Gen. 46 : 9. 

1' This is no reproach, but rather indication of wealth. Jehovah, is repre- 
sented as having two wives, Judah and Israel, Jer. 3 : 6ff ; Ezek. 23. 

16 Skinner, 118f. Adah is the name of a wife of Esau in Gen. 36 : 2. Both 
Lamech and Esau are desert dwellers. 

" Jabal in LXX traced by implication to a root *hl and spelled as a participle. 
The root is not used in Old Testament Hebrew, but is found in Arabic and the 
participle occurs in the sense *' camel-herd." In its place in this artificial 
genealogy the name is seemingly quite appropriate, though the sense is a more 
general one than that found in Arabic. The derivation from the root 'bl brings 
Jabal and Abel much nearer together than the Massoretic text would permit. 

18 He made the first instruments of music, the kinnor, a stringed instrument 
( = the lyre?) and a wind instrument, the *<igab ( = the flute?). 

" (a) The connection of the first smith with a sister called Naamah 
('* lovely ") is paralleled by the Greek myth of Hephaestos and his marriage to 
Aphrodite (Dill. 103). 

(b) Naamah is the name of an Eastern people in Job 3:11. It is also the 
name of a Phoenician goddess. Gunkel, Gen.3, 50. 

20 The smith's calling was held in disesteem among the Bedouin, vd. Skinner, 
119f; Gunkel, Gen.s, 48. The three sons of Lamech may be compared with 
the three sons of Noah, son of Lamech (5 : 28-32) . The three arts named are 
characteristic of Bedouin life. In Phoenician mythology the smith's art and 
the art of music are connected in origin (Dill.^, 102f ) . 

In V. 22 the metal described as " brass " should probably be understood as 
" bronze." In early English literature " brass " is often used where " bronze " 
is meant. Ryle, Gen. 80f. 

21 According to this line Cain is a rival clan of Lamech and not an ancestor; 
a Bedawl would not boast of superiority in revenge over an ancestor. The 
poem had originally no relation to the genealogy of Cain in 4 : 17-24. Skinner 
121f. The age of the poem may be inferred from the fact that while the Cain 
narrative does not approve blood-revenge, this song does approve it. It is 
much older than the other parts of the chapter. This is true even though 
rather late references speak of Jehovah as a relentless avenger. This conven- 
tional manner of speaking of God is a survival from a much older and more 
literal usage. In the present connection the song illustrates J's doctrine of 
advancing human depravity. Cf . Gunkel, Gen.s, 52. 

22 As this passage is presupposed by the boast-song of Lamech it must be 
taken as a fragment of an ancient Cain myth according to which he became a 
Bedawi after being an agriculturalist. In the main story he becomes a city 
dweller. The main story alone seems quite consistent with the Jehovist's 
argument in cc. 2-4 that wisdom increased brings increased sorrow. 

23 Gen. 4 : 12b, " A fugitive and a wanderer thou shalt be in the earth." 
The translation should bring out some outstanding disabilities of the nomadic 
desert life. When one thinks of the poverty of the desert and of the constantly 
shifting location of its people, the translation " faint and wandering thou shalt 
be in the earth " appears to reflect the author's thought better than our Bible 
renderings. Cf. Ryle, Gen. 75. 

24 (a) The view that Deity inhabits the fruitful land and demons and evil 
beasts the desert is common, cf. Lev. 16 : 10; Isa. 13 : 20-22, 34 : 10-15; 
Matt. 12 : 43-45. 

(b) For the elder son as a nomad of the wilderness, cf. Ishmael and Esau, 
Gen. 16 : 12, 27 : 40. 

25 Not a mark branding him as a criminal, but a protective symbol (see 
below). So Ezek. 9 : 4, 6; cf. Ryle, Gen. 75. 

26 Plainly the Cain of this story is not the son of the first human pair. He 
is in the midst of strangers. It is the Cain of Lamech's song, who has people 
to support him and to avenge his death on others sevenfold. Vd. Skinner, in 
loc. 

-7 Cf. Skinner, 124. It seems natural that Cain having been disposed of, 
the author should supply just what these verses give, and the presence of the 
word Elohim and of a false explanation of the name Seth do not seem to 
justify ascription to another author. Any explanation which might have been 
given would have been forced and unnatural. 



[87] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

2« Num. 24 : 17. Seth is a synonym for Aloab. It is more likely than not 
that Seth in the present passage is a purely artificial name like most of the 
others in the primitive history. 

» (a) Enosh's generation saw the beginning of Jahweh worship, cf. Ex. 
3 : US, 6 : 2. 

(b) ** Call on the name ": In the first instance to be interpreted literally, 
cf. many Psalnas. The use of the name in addressing a deity puts the worship- 

Eer in touch with the actual being of the deity with all the character or attri- 
utes implied. Cf . Skinner, 127. 

(c) The pronunciation " Jehovah " is unquestionably wrong. It is attribu- 
ted to Petrus Galatinus, Confessor of Leo X, in 1518. It unites the vowels of 
the word meaning ** Lord " adonai (**^*^s) with the consonants of the Sacred 
Name, the Tetragrammaton JHVH (Mln**); and although, in consequence 
of four centuries of Christian use, the name Jehovah enjoys a peculiar sanctity, 
it is etymologically a " mongrel word." H. E. Ryle, Genesis, Introduction, 
p. Ivii. The use of ** Jehovah " in the American Standard Revision is, of 
course, justified by the peculiar sanctity given by long " Christian use." 

30 (a) A mythical etymology which could not be the true one. The LXX 
" will give us rest " suggests perhaps a better reading, Gunkel, Gen.3, 55. 

(b) The derivation of the name points back to a story of a curse on man as 
a tiller of the ground and assumes also a narrative concerning Noah as the 
original planter of a vineyard. Cf . Gunkel, 1. c. 

31 Gen. 4 : 2. 

32 Gunkel, R. G. G., Art. Kain u.d. Kainiten. 

33 The mark put upon Cain was a mark of clientage. Gordon, ETG, 211. 
Vd. Dillmann, Gen.e, 97f. Cf. Rev. 13 : 16f. Not very different, Gunkel, 
1. c, who makes the mark that of the tribe. 

3* If these vs. were removed the motive to account for the rise of the Bedouin 
would disappear. Possibly, that motive was not in the oldest form of the Cain 
legend. 

36 Some prefer to connect v. 1 with vs. 17-24. It does not seem desirable 
to disconnect the v. from the vs. 2- 12a which follow it in MT; but cf. Mitchell, 
WBA, 160, Gordon, ETG, 7; also Dillmann, Gen.s, 86ff. 

36 Mitchell, WBA, 189, by emending the text makes it appear that Cain's 
son was the builder of this city. It is preferable to retain the reading of MT., 
cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 52. 

37 But cf . the story of Cain and Abel in the early portion of the chapter. 

38 It is not necessary (with Gunkel, Urg. and P., 52) to assume that the 
writer of Gen. 4 : 17-24 did not know of the Flood. He knew of Noah's line 
and there is no Flood without him, and no Noah without the Flood. 

33 Actually, copper and iron v/ere not introduced at the same period. 

40 The genealogy Gen. 4 : IG -24 begins with Cain a builder of a city where 
the arts would be presupposed and ends with the Bedawi Lamech and his 
sons with their simple arts (!). 

41 Dillmann 6, 105. 

4-2 Dillmann, 91, KAT^, 510. 

*2 Other meanings have been suggested, vd. Dillmann, Mitchell, in loc. 



[SS] 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PRIESTLY GENEALOGY OF THE 
SONS OF ADAM 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PRIESTLY GENEALOGY OF THE SONS 
OF ADAM. Gen. 5 

Following up his " generations of the 
The Purpose heavens and the earth '' the Priestly writer 

and Form of . - . i* i ^ i 

the Genealogy gives US his genealogy of the descendants oi 
the first human pair to the tenth genera- 
tion. The list is manifestly intended to bridge the 
gap from the Creation to the Flood. ^ It is in the 
systematic formal manner of the Priestly source. 
It proceeds throughout as follows: A Hved so many 
years and begat B [his firstborn son], and he lived 
after he begat B so many years and begat sons 
and daughters; and all the days of A were so 
many years: and he died. There is a slight modi- 
fication of the form in the case of Adam and a 
more considerable one in that of Enoch and in 
that of Lamech, due in the latter case to matter 
taken over from J. 

According to the text as it now stands, 
vaeust^^^^ from the creation of Adam to the birth of 
Noah represents a period of 1056 years; 
to the date of the Deluge, 1656 years. ^ The 
Samaritan text gives a total 349 years less, and the 
Septuagint a total of 586 years more, than the He- 
brew. The Samaritan is probably nearest to the 
original text as it regularly diminishes the age of the 
individuals at the birth of the first born and at death 
from Adam to Noah (not inclusive).^ 

[91] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

The list is professedly that of the descent from 
Adara through Seth. In reahty, it is another version 
Relation of ^^ ^^^ genealogy in Gen. 4 : 16-24. The 
Jhe Genealogy names are in somewhat different form and 

to the Cainite- ,,. . , tii t/v 

sethiteList their Order is also shghtly different,^ but 
the original identity of the two genealo- 
gies seems certain. The table which follows will make 
this more clear: 

Gen. 4 : 16-24 (J) Gen. 5 (P) 

Adam — (No. 1 in other Ust) 1. Adam 

[Seth] 2. Seth 

[Enosh] 3. Enosh 

Cain — (No. 4. in other Ust) 4. Kenan^ 

Enoch — (No. 7 in other Hst) 5. Mahalalel 

'Irad — (No. 6 in other list) 6. Jared^ 

Mehujael — (No. 5 in other list)^ 7. Enoch 

Methushael — (No. 8 in other hst)^ 8. Methuselah 

Lamech — (No. 9 in other list) 9. Lamech 
Noah (J in 5 : 29)^ — (No. 10 

in other list) 10. Noah 

Relation to the ^^^ length of life attributed to these 
Bab^lnian ^ntediluvians is moderate compared with 
Kings before that which some other peoples attribute 
to men before the Flood; e. g., the Baby- 
lonian list of ten antediluvian kings represents a 
period of rule of 432,000 years. ^^ It is here sufficient 
to say that all such representations of antediluvian 
longevity are purely mythical. The possible longev- 
ity of human existence under such conditions as 
were present in the East at that time/^ or on 
our earth at any time, does not exceed one fifth of the 
average age of the patriarchs, even if Enoch be in- 
cluded in the reckoning. ^^ 

[92] 



THE SONS OF ADAM 

Enoch, " the seventh from Adam ^' (Judc 14), is 
exceptional. The length of his life is the same 
number of years as there are daj^s in a 
Enoch, a solar year. He has converse with the Deity 
Figure during his lifetime, and in the end does 

not die, but is taken out of the world 
by God.^^ Among the Jews of a later time his con- 
verse with Deity and heavenly beings was thought to 
have given to Enoch a knowledge of Divine secrets 
(cf. the Enoch literature). The seventh of the ante- 
diluvian kings in the Babylonian Hst referred to above 
has also a special character as king of Sippar, the city 
of the sun god, and as having been specially instructed 
in secret knowledge by the sun god, Shamash, and the 
sun and storm god, Ramman.^^ It is natural to 
think of the conception of Enoch as having been 
influenced by the Babylonian myth concerning this 
king, Enmeduranki, the seventh of the kings before 
the Flood. 15 

The tenth name in the list is Noah.^^ 
J^^ce^^oah The editor inserts in his section an ex- 
planation of his name from J wherein 
Lamech, his father, is made to predict relief 
from the toil of the ground through Noah, a 
touch which must refer to Noah's being the first to 
cultivate the vine, cf . 9 : 20ff, Judg. 9 : 13. 

It is not in order as yet to consider 
The Genealogy the historical implications of the Biblical 

a Descent of . rr^i ^' 

Individuals genealogies. The lists oi the antedilu- 
vians are intended to represent a descent 
of individuals^^; but at the same time there can be 
no thought on our part that the individuals concerned 
are historical personages. In character these early 
lists are in a class by themselves. 



[93] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



NOTES ON CHAPTER VIII 

^ (a) Care is taken to state the connection with Gen. 1 : 1 — 2 : 4a by using 
over again the formula of man's creation there found (cf. 1 : 27 and 5 : If). 
The transmission of the Divine image to Adam's descendants is suggested by 
the statement that Adam begat "in his own likeness, according to his own 
image" a son (5 : 3). 

(b) ** The book of the generations." The word rendered " book " covers 
any written document. Jer. 32:10; Isa. 50:1, etc. Gunkel, Gen.^, 134. 
We may say in this passage *' * the list ' of the generations, etc' " 

2 According to Ga and other MSS., GOG; G^, 586. 

3 (a) There is probably some principle observed in the presentation of the 
chronological system of P in the respective versions. It is not possible to 
say precisely what was in view in each case. Skinner, 135ff, Dillmann^, llOff, 
Gunkel, Gen.3, 133. 

(b) In the Samaritan text Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech all appear as 
having died in the year A. M. 1307, which is the year of the Flood, according 
to the Samaritan. Both Hebrew and Greek agree that Methuselah died in 
the Flood year. It thus appears that in the view of these authorities the later 
antediluvian patriarchs were wicked men who were destroyed in the Deluge, 
excepting Enoch the seventh from Adam and Lamech the father of Noah the 
righteous head of the new human race. Gunkel, Gen.3, 134. 

4 (a) This is due to the transposition of two names in the list. Enoch 
who was No. 3 in the old Hst of the Cainite- Adamites, has been given a more 
honorable rank as No. 7 in the Priestly list of the Sethite-Adamites. This 
caused the old No. 5 of the Cainites to become new No. 5 in the Sethite list. 

(b) P had quite a different conception of the family of Adam and Eve from 
that of J as set forth in Gen. 4. He knows nothing of Abel by name; Cain is 
not the son of Adam, but the great-grandson (Kenan) ; he is not excommuni- 
cated, but is begotten in the likeness of Adam who is created in the likeness of 
God, and in turn passes on this likeness to his firstborn, Gen. 5 : 1-14. 

5 Kenan (ppi p^p')» ^ variant probably of l^p Cain. A god of this 
name is mentioned often in Sabean inscriptions. Vd. Baethgen Beitr. z. 
Sem. Rel'sgesch., 127f, 152. 

« The Jewish tradition derives the name from the verb " to descend," and 
speaks of the angels " coming down " in Jared's days to instruct men in morals. 
In another form of the myth, some of the angels sinned in Jared's days, and 
" came down " upon Mount Hermon (the mount of cursing). Vd. Jub. 4 : 15; 
Enoch 6 : 6, 106 : 13. 

7 LXX of Gen. 4 : 18. Maleleel. 

8 LXX of Gen. 4 : 18. Mathusala. 

8 Adding Seth and Enosh to this *' Cainite " list it would seem almost that 
there had existed a variant list of ten generations, beside that in Gen. 5. Cf . 
DiUmann e, 104. 

10 The enormous figures in the Babylonian list are probably to be explained 
as due to the Babylonian familiarity with the great periods involved in as- 
tronomical calculations. Gunkel, Gen.', 133. 

11 Mitchell, WBA, 188f. It is probable that both Hebrew and Babylon- 
ian figures stand related in some way to the month divisions of the solar year. 
KAT3, 541f. 

(b) There was a belief among the Jews that as the race grew older men be- 
came weaker, smaller, and shorter-lived. 4 Ezra 5 : 54f. Growing wicked- 
ness also shortened hfe, Prov. 10 : 27. In the World to Come, the Age of the 
Messiah, it was thought that the original longevity would be restored, Isa. 65 : 
20. Gunkel, Gen.s, 133. 

12 The list in Gen. 5 as a whole seems to be based on the Babylonian list 
referred to. Like the latter, it covers the first ten human generations from the 
Creation to the Deluge. Its names apparently follow the reference or mean- 



194] 



THE SONS OF ADAM 

ing, or in the case of the first name, the form, of the Babylonian names. Cf. 
the two sources: 

Gen. 5 Babylonian 

1. Adam. 2. Adapa. 

3. Enosh (=man). 3. Amelon (=man). 

4. Kenan (= smith) . 4. Ammenon ( =masterworkman). 

7. Enoch (= dedicated). 7. Enmeduranki (chief priest of the 

meeting place of heaven and earth) 

8. Methuselah (=man of [the god] 8. Amel-Sin (= man of the moon- 
Shelah). god Sin). 

9. Lamech (father of Noah, hero of 9. Ubar-Tutu (father of hero of 
Flood). Flood). 

10. Noah (the hero of the Flood). 10. Xisuthros ( =Atrahasi3, the hero 

of the Flood). 

For the other three names the correspondence is not made out. Zimmern, 
KAT3, 530ff, esp. 539-540, Skinner, 135ff. Gunkel, Gen.3, 13 Iff. For the 
name Methuselah (and Methushael of 4 : 18) a Babylonian origin from INIutu- 
sha-^H ( =man of the god) has also been proposed. Cf. Ryle, Gen. 79. 

On the subject of this note cf . Ryle, Gen. 88f, 90f . 

13 (a) y. 24, " And he was not." A conventional expression for a mysterious 
end, Isa. 17 : 14; Job 27 : 19. Gunkel, Gen.3, 135. 

(b) '* For God took him." It was taken for granted that Enoch was removed 
to the palace of God in heaven. Cf. 2 Kgs. 2 : 1-11. 

(c) The name Enoch (Han6kh) may mean " consecration " or " dedica- 
tion," and may be connected with what is here related of the man. 

"Jastrow, RBA, 69. etc., Zimmern, KAT^, 540. Gunkel, Gen.3, i35f. 
Cf. for Enoch, Jub. 4 : 17-21; Enoch 81 : Iff, 93 : 2, etc. 

15 Both Enoch and Enmeduranki are connected with the knowledge of the 
" signs of the heavens " or omen-wisdom. Sir. 44 : 16 (Kautzsch, A. Ps. 
i, 450), Jub. 4 : 17ff (Ibid, ii, 47); cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 119f; Skinner, 
131f. 

!• The Flood comes before sons are born to Noah's sons. Hence, the new 
race is uncorrupted by its environment. It is born into a world which has been 
purged of evil. Had Noah begotten sons at the age when the other ante- 
diluvians begat their firstborn this could not have been secured. Cf. Gunkel, 
Gen.8, 136f. 

" In Gen. 4 cases such as those of Cain and Lamech have also tribal reference 
but these are exceptions. 



[95] 



CHAPTER IX 
THE DELUGE 



CHAPTER IX 

THE DELUGE. Gen. 6:1 — 9:17 

In the narratives of Genesis which have been 
hitherto studied, the materials taken from the re- 
spective sources used by the editor of 
The Mode of Geuesis have been preserved without 
Sources intermingHug or confusion. In the account 

given of the Deluge a different method has 
been followed by the editor and the two sources have 
been interwoven and blended.^ It seems as though 
nearly the whole narrative of the Deluge in each of the 
documents, the prophetic Jehovist and the Priestly, 
had been used. The most noteworthy omission is 
the command to build the Ark and the actual building 
in the Jehovistic source. How closely the different 
materials are combined may be seen from a statement 
of the results of the critical analysis made by scholars. 
Only a small portion of the whole story is taken by 
way of example. 

Gen. 7:6; from P. And Noah was six 
fhe^Me\hod hundred years old when the Flood of waters 
was upon the earth. Gen, 7 : 7-10; 
from J. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his 
wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the 
Ark, because of the waters of the Flood. Of clean 
beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, 
and of everything that creepeth upon the ground, 
there went in [two and two]^ unto Noah into the Ark 
[male and female]^ as God commanded Noah. And 
it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of 
the Flood were upon the earth. 

[99] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Gen. 7 : 11; from P. In the six hundredth year of 
Noah^s Ufe, in the second month, on the seventeenth 
day of the month, on the same day were all the 
fountains of the Great Deep broken up, and the win- 
dows of heaven were opened. Gen. 7 : 12; from J. 
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty 
nights. 

(Gen. 7 : 13-16ab from P; 16c from J.) 
Generally speaking the portions from each source 
when read consecutively are seen to be in the original 
order. This may be illustrated from the passage just 
quoted: 

Jehovah ordered Noah with his house- 
'^^^story of liold to enter the Ark ^ and to take in seven 

the Jehovist 

in 7 : 1-16 pairs ^ of cleau animals and two pairs of 
unclean for the purpose of renewing the 
species after the Flood. In seven days more Jehovah 
will bring a forty days' rain and destroy all life from off 
the ground. Noah made these preparations (1-5); 
all were embarked in the Ark; and after the seven 
days, the waters of the Flood came with heavy rain 
upon the earth for forty days (7-10, 12); and Jehovah 
shut the door of the Ark (16c). 

Noah was six hundred years old at 
the^Pdestiy' the time when the Flood began (7 : 6), 
writer«in7:6 rj^^ie Springs and fountains all broke up 
and overflowed and the rain began to fall 
on the 17th of the second month of Noah's 600th 
year (11). On that day, Noah, his three sons, his wife, 
and their wives, went into the Ark, taking with them 
two of every kind of land beasts and birds, one male 
and one female of each (13-1 6b). 

The full account of the Jehovist's ^ Flood narrative 
is given herewith.^ 

Men had multiplied in the earth and their women 

[100] 



THE DELUGE 

were so fair that the angels^ were led to take them 
as wives. Jehovah saw that man by reason of his 
nature was bent to evil and determined to 
view'SF j*s shorten human life to a hundred and twenty 
Dduge^ °^ *^^ years. An additional cause of violence in 
the earth came of this marriage of the 
angels, because to them were born the famous giants 
(Nephilim)^^ of old. Under these circumstances, the 
shortening of human life availed very little, and 
Jehovah decreed that he would destroy men and 
beasts^^ because of the violence and evil with which 
they had filled the earth. Of Noah,^^ j^^qy^}^ made 
an exception (6 : 1-8). 

[The order to build an Ark and the actual building 
of it are taken from the other source.] 

The Ark^^ having been made ready, Noah is com- 
manded to enter with his family ^^ and seven pairs 
of clean beasts and one pair of unclean, so that, 
on the one hand, sacrifices may be provided and, 
on the other hand, animals may later be propagated 
upon the earth. In seven days, Jehovah will cause it 
to rain upon the earth^^ for a period of forty days 
and forty nights (7 : 1-5). Noah obeys the Divine 
command. In seven days the rain comes and con- 
tinues as had been foretold for forty days and 
nights. All living creatures upon the earth perish, 
except Noah and the others who are in the Ark, for 
the waters are deep over the earth (7 : 7-10, 12, 16c, 
17b, 22, 23). At the end of the rain^^ period the 
waters gradually abate. Noah [sends forth a raven 
which continues to go forth from the Ark and to 
return to it until the earth is dry] waits seven days,^^ 
and, then, sends out from the Ark a dove, which 
finding no spot on which to alight comes back. 
After another seven days, another dove is sent forth 

[101] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

which comes back bearing in her mouth an ohve leaf. 
This shews that the waters had largely subsided. 
Seven days afterwards, the dove went out again and 
finding the earth dry enough to alight did not return 
to the Ark. Noah, thereupon, ^^ removed the cover- 
ing of the Ark and saw that the ground was drv 
(8 :2b, 3a, 6-12, 13b). ^^ [The debarkation is want- 
ing in J; what is given in Gen. 8 : 14-19 is from 
P.] Noah after going forth from the Ark built an 
altar^^ and offered a great sacrifice of every clean 
animal and bird to Jehovah, and Jehovah was 
moved by the sweet savour of the sacrifice^^ to 
promise (" purpose in His heart '0 that He would 
not again curse the ground for man's sake nor smite 
again the creatures of the earth; because the evil 
of man is an inveterate bent of his nature. Seasons 
and dajT-s will not again vary from their accustomed 
occurrence (8 : 20-22). 22 

In the account of the Priestly source^^ 
th?Prieltiy°^ God is not known by a proper name 
^rDekige^ such as Jehovah, but is simply Elohim.^^ 
The saving of Noah^^ and his family is 
with a view to establishing a covenant between 
Elohim and Noah (vd. 6 : 18, 9 : S&).^^ The speci- 
fications of the Ark are given. Its dimensions are 
to be 300 X 50 X 30 cubits. ^^ It is to have three stories 
or decks and is to be divided off into rooms or stalls. ^^ 
A roof 29 with a pitch of one cubit is to cover the boat^^ 
and a door is to be made in the side. The animals 
which go into the Ark are not distinguished as clean 
and unclean (because sacrifice is not instituted before 
Moses according to this source). There are but two 
animals, a male and a female, of each kind, in the 
Ark. 2^ For the human beings and the other creatures, 
food of all kinds is brought into the Ark. The stages of 

[102] 



THE DELUGE 

the Deluge are carefully dated. The Flood began on 
the 17ty2 day of the second month of Noah's six 
hundredth year (7:11). The waters rose for a 
period of 150 days^^ (7 :24). They were made to 
diminish by a wind^ (8 : 1), so that on the 17th^^ 
day of the seventh month of Noah's six hundredth 
year, the Ark had grounded upon a mountain in the 
land of Ararat^^ (8:4). The abatement went on 
until, on the 1st day of the tenth month, the mountain 
tops were visible^^ (8 : 5). On the 1st day of Noah's 
six hundred and first year, the waters were gone^^ 
(8 : 13a). On the 27th day of the second month of 
Noah's six hundred and first year, the ground was 
dry and those in the Ark disembarked (8 : 14) after 
a stay of 365 days on board the vessel. ^^ Thus, the 
Flood lasted a complete solar year. In this source, 
the waters are sent upon the earth by means of a 
flood due to the overflow of streams in springtime, 
or during the rainy reason, and also by means of 
rain^^ (7:11). In the Prophetic writer, it is by the 
rain alone (7 : 4-12). In J the Ark is loaded in seven 
days (7 : 2-4) ; in P with one seventh of the number 
of creatures one day is consumed (7 : 13). The 
Priestly source knows nothing of a sacrifice after the 
Deluge. It knows of a covenant without sacrifice, 
however. Noah and his sons are blessed and given 
the same command to multiply and to rule over the 
creatures as was given Adam the first father of the 
human race^^; and in this case (as apparently in 
Adam's) there is a condition: the blood of animals 
must not be used for food and the blood of man must 
not be shed.'*^ The covenant included a promise to 
man and beast that there will not again be a flood to 
destroy the earth, 9 : 8ff. The rainbow which is set 
in the clouds, as often as it reappears, will be a re- 

[103] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

minder to God of His covenant engagement to send 
no more flood on the earth/^ 

Finally, for the purpose, probably, of connecting 
Noah and Abram, we have in this source (P) the 
statement that Noah lived after the Flood 350 years 
(9:28). The genealogy of Shem's descendants in 
Gen. 11 : 10-26^ shews the elapsed time from the 
Flood to the birth of Abram to have been 292 years. 
Abram was, according to this reckoning, 58 years old 
when Noah died. 

Relation of the There are signs in both narratives (J 
Hebrew Hood and P) of familiarity with the much more 
Babylonian ancicut Babylonian myth of the Deluge.'*^ 
euge y r^^^ word employed for the Flood (mab- 
btil) and that used for the Ark C'^,^ tebhah),^^ 
are not Hebrew words. The term employed for the 
bitumen or pitch with which the Ark was made water- 
tight is '* kopher,'' whereas elsewhere another word, 
'' hemar," is always employed for ^^ pitch.'^ The 
Assyrian term corresponding to ^' kopher " is the usual 
one for '* bitumen '' in Assyrian.^^ The land of Ararat 
is the region of Urartu, lying north and east of Lake 
Van. It is frequently referred to in the records of 
Assyria. The contents of the Babylonian Flood myth 
exhibit suggestive analogies vvith the Biblical narra- 
tives: 1. The catastrophe is a Divine judgment be- 
cause men have resisted the gods. 2. The boat is 
not like a common boat in shape but is a large barge,^^ 
as high as it is broad. 3. It is built by a God-fearing 
man who has been Divinely warned of the coming 
Flood. This man is of the tenth human generation. 
4. The Flood is brought on the earth by means of 
rain and overflow.^^ 5. Its duration is a round period 
(seemingly 7 days^ preparation, 21 days in the ship, 
28 in all).^^ 6. Birds are sent forth thrice: a dove, a 

[104] 



THE DELUGE 

swallow, and a raven, in turn.^^ 7. The barge grounds 
on the " mountain of the Kordyeans '' in Armenia 
which is the traditional location of the Biblical 
''land of Ararat'' (so Berosus, vd. Gordon, 337). 
The Gilgamesh Epic speaks of Mount Nisir which is 
probably further south (KAT^, 549, n. 4, 558). 
8. After disembarking, sacrifices are offered to the 
gods. 9. The avenging God who has brought the 
Flood pledges that He will never again visit a similar 
judgment on mankind. 

It is not possible to account for these points of 
contact without assuming literary dependence direct 
or indirect on the side of the Hebrew writers. ^^ The 
Babylonian version is as old at least as 2000 B. C. 
The Hebrew writers have purged the myths of 
polytheism and have exercised much more restraint 
in their use of the imagination. In the Babylonian 
myth Atrahasis deceives his fellows as to the coming 
Deluge and the purpose of the Ark which he is pre- 
paring. The gods, too, are made to appear in a most 
unfavorable light. In the end, the hero does not 
return to the earth as Noah does but dwells with the 
gods. Noah, on the whole, is a far more attractive 
figure than Atrahasis. The Babylonian story is in 
poetic form, the Hebrew version in prose. This is 
perhaps due to the borrowed character of the story 
and the lack of the epic motive which is found in the 
Babylonian myth. 

The question of the possibility of such a 
The Possibii- Deluge as that described in these chapters 

ity of a Uni- /» ^ • i . i . f 

versai Deluge 01 Geuesis evcr havmg occurred, is not one 
that touches on any essential element of 
religion. It is a purely scientific question. The 
Hebrew narratives are manifestly not original with 
their Hebrew authors. They are, at the same time, 

[105] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

not in harmony with the older Babylonian source, and 
furthermore they contradict one another. The pos- 
sibility of a vessel being constructed according to the 
dimensions given and of its floating in a storm when 
heavily laden may be disputed. ^^ That it could con- 
tain what is said to have been lodged in it must be 
denied. It cannot be imagined how the animals 
could be brought together from remote parts of the 
earth separated by intervening water from the place 
of embarkation^^; and as little can the redistribution 
of the creatures after the Flood be conceived. The 
universal occurrence of such rain or flood as is pre- 
supposed by the narratives is unaccountable, and the 
disposal of the water when it became necessary to 
remove it is not less so. Both of these phenomena 
hang together with a cosmology which assumes the 
existence of an ocean upon which the earth floats 
as a mountain island, and another ocean which is 
supported above the solid vault of the sky. 

The question as to whether a local deluge of great 
magnitude is or is not possible may be answered 
affirmatively, if suitable conditions are presented, but 
the narratives in Genesis are committed to a universal 
phenomenon. ^^ Hence the question referred to is not 
admissible in relation to the Biblical narrative. 
When did the ^^^ exact period at which the Flood 
Son ori^^a^t ^^^^Y became the property of the Hebrews 
Among the caunot be determined. ^^ The contact of 
e rews. ^j^^ Babylonian culture with Hebrew life 
did not take place before the entrance into Canaan 
and Babylonian influence upon Hebrew literature 
probably follows the period when the old battle songs 
and the old hero-stories were gathered. There is 
therefore, no suggestion of such influence before the 
time of Solomon. 

[106] 



THE DELUGE 

Appended to the section on the Flood is a Httle 
myth (Gen. 9 : 20-27 J) intended to show how agri- 
culture and, in particular, the culture of 
vitfcShS^^^ the vine, began after the Deluge. 

Noah the husbandman was the first to 
plant a vineyard. ^^ Not knowing the effects of wine, 
he became drunk by partaking of it and lay naked 
in his tent. Canaan, his youngest son, seeing his 
father thus, mockingly told his elder brothers Shem 
and Japheth. They were of different character 
and in a true filial spirit covered their father. ^^ 
When Noah recovered sobriety, he pronounced 
blessing on his elder sons and a curse on Canaan: 

Let a curse be on Canaan! 

Of all slaves the most abject be he to his brothers. 
Of Jehovah may Shem's tents be blessed; and let 
Canaan be subject to him. 

May his God give to Japheth enlargement: 
Let Canaan be servant to him! 

The lajth is made to express certain 
^urpose of the ^onvictious of its author. He disapproves 

of the culture and use of the grape and 
regards the Canaanites as thoroughly wicked and 
shameless. He looks for the subjugation of the 
Canaanites by the Shemitic and Japhetic races 
round about them. Where the story now stands it 
is meant to lead over to the Table of the Nations 
which are descended from Noah's sons, ch. 10.^^ 

The story had nothing to do with the 
lfo^??^^e*^^ Flood story at first. Noah here is not the 
Flood Narra- typically pious man as in that narrative, 

but one who has brought himself into dis- 
grace. While Noah was known as a husbandman 
and the discoverer of wine there v>^as a difference of 

[107] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

opinion as to the value of his discovery. He is a 
benefactor of all who toil in 5 : 29 (cf. Judg. 9 : 13; 
Psa. 104 : 15), but a cause of trouble here (cf. Hos. 
4:11 and the attitude of the Rechabites, Jer. 35 : 
6-19). 

The sons of Noah in the story itself are young, 
unmarried, and still living at home. The story of 
the Flood represents Noah's sons as married and their 
names as Shem, Ham and Japheth, not Shem, 
Japheth and Canaan. Moreover, the Canaan of this 
story being under a curse could not figure as being 
saved from the Flood. Whoever told this story never 
thought of a Flood, apparently. ^^ 



NOTES ON CHAPTER IX 

^ For an analysis of the Deluge narratives shewing clearly the two sources 
vd. Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 348ff. 
2 Editorial addition. 
' Editorial addition. 

* The making of the Ark has not been related so far in J, and there can have 
been in J no notice of the coming Deluge before this now given. J had an 
account of the building of the Ark, but it has given place to the more detailed 
description of P. If we had J's account, we might expect to find two points 
specially clear; Noah's pious obedience in preparing so great a vessel on dry 
land, with no evidence suggesting a need for it; Noah's mysterious wisdom 
brought out in some such naive way as in the sequel, where, not being able 
to see whether or not the waters had gone, in order to obtain information 
he resorts to experiments with birds (8 : 6-12 J), cf. Gunkel, op. c, 80. The 
tradition concerning Noah's mysterious wisdom is probably as old as J's 
story of his having introduced the culture of the vine (9 : 20-27 J) . P uses 
of Noah the expression which implies wonderful Divine communications, 
*• He walked with the Elohim "(6:9 P, cf. 5 : 22 P). In Heb. 11:7" Noah, 
being warned concerning things not seen as yet, moved by pious fear, prepared an 
ark," etc. This is based on the tradition of J, not P. 

6 Lit'y, seven each, a male and his mate. Skinner, 152, favors seven only of 
clean animals, but there is about even modern authority for seven pairs and the 
present context favors pairs. 

« Previous portion of the Priestly story, 6 : 9-22. 

'These Flood myths originated in a country where floods were common. 
This would not be true of Palestine; it would be true of Babylonia. The 
scene places the Flood in that region. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 83. Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 67ff. 

8 Analysis of Flood Narratives. For the lines of evidence on which it is 
based, see Skinner, 148. 

• The ** sons of God," never the " sons of Jehovah," in Old Testament 
(female angels or " daughters of God " are inconceivable in Old Testament). 
These '* sons of God " form a Divine council and in chorus celebrate the won- 
derful works of their Lord, cf. Job 1 : 6, 2 : 1, 38 : 7; Psa. 29 : If, 89 : 6; 
Gen. 1:26,3:22; also Dan. 3:25,28; 1 Kgs. 22:19; Psa. 82:1; Isa. 



[108] 



THE DELUGE 

24 : 21; Dt. 32 : 8, LXX; further, Gen. 28 : 12. 32 : 1; Psa. S : G, 97 ; 7, 
138 : 1. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.s, 55f.; Urg. and P., 77. This in Gen. G is the 
one example in Old Testament of a myth having for its subject the amours of 
Divine beings. The marriage was sinful for the angels, but not for the women 
they took as wives, cf. Mk. 12 : 25. This kind of myth is common enough 
among other peoples and probably was once found more frequently in Israel. 
It seems to have afforded the suggestion for the metaphor of marriage as 
expressing the relation of Jehovah to Israel, and to have given a point of at- 
tachment for the later doctrine of a fall of the angels, cf. 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; 
B. Jub. 5; Enoch cc. 6ff, 19, 86. Gunkel, 1. c. 

The myth in the present passage is but a fragment. Originally it must have 
gone on to tell of the mighty deeds of this Divine race and of a punishment 
^^sited on them by Jehovah. As the passage (6 : 1-4) now stands it embraces 
one fragment on the loves of the angels (vs. 1, 2) and another fragment whose 
lost context told of the violence wrought by the long-lived antediluvians 
(v. 3) with an additional note on the mighty race before the Flood (v. 4). This 
note explains the shortening o{ human life in v. 3, and the need for the Flood 
which is yet to be announced. Yd. the following analysis: 

The JehovisVs narrative in Gen. 6 : 1-4. 

A. vs. 1, 2. And it came to pass that mankind began to be many upon the 
face of the ground and daughters were born to them. Then the angels saw 
the women of humankind that they were goodly in appearance and took wives 
for themselves of such as they preferred. 

B. V. 3. And Jehovah said my spirit will not abide in man always . . . but 
his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. 

C. V. 4. The Nephilim were in the earth in those days and afterwards 
when the angels went in to the daughters of men; and they bore them children. 
They are the heroes who from of old were famous men. 

To recapitulate: there is first a myth concerning the loves of the angels 
(A. vs. 1, 2); then a myth concerning the shortening of human life (B. v. 3). 
This myth contained a little appended note concerning the Divine origin of 
the Nephilim, who are explained as the heroes of the old legends (C. v. 4). 

It was because of this added note that the myth concerning the shortening 
of life was tacked on to A. vs. 1, 2. 

The Nephilim are again referred to in Num. 13 : 33, where the pre-Israelite 
peoples of Palestine are described as such. According to Baruch 3 : 26-28; 
Wisd. 14 : 6; 3 Mace. 2:4; Sirach 16 : 7, they were giants in rebellion against 
God and therefore perished in the Deluge. 

I reject in the translation offered above the words " in their body, it is flesh " 
(v. 3) ; RV., ** for that he also is flesh " ; RV. mg., " in their going astray they are 
flesh." " In their body " is a gloss to " man "; and ** it is flesh " is a secondary 
gloss to *' body." Vs. 5-7aa continue B. v. 3 and C. v. 4 is a parenthesis. 
For a discussion of the critical problems of the passage, vd. Skinner and 
Gunkel, Gen., in loc. 

As to the eAdl of the antediluvians, Jehovah concluded that the only course 
open was to take away the " spirit " from man and thus bring to him death at a 
much earlier period. Hence, the length of life now common among men, 
which never exceeds one hundred and twenty years, was at that time fixed. 
Jehovah saw that, human nature being flesh, as it was, to continue long life 
to man only meant to continue the augmentation of human sin. 

These two stories had nothing to do with the Deluge myths, in the first 
instance, though it is not surprising that someone who was familiar with these 
different myths should try to combine them harmoniously. The combination 
in Genesis is not very successful, being little more than a mechanical juxta- 
position of fragments of the two old stories together with the two Deluge 
myths of J and P; cf. Skinner, 104f. Gunkel, Gen.3, 59. 

w Cf . Num. 13 : 33. 

Ji (a) In the original primeval world there was no violence wrought by the 
animals, nor by nian toward the animals. Gen. 1 : 28-30 (P) 2 : 18-20 (J) ; 
but not only man's disregard of the Creator, but also the ferocity of the beasts 
has increased since the beginning to such a degree that taken together they 
now move the Creator to destroy both man and beast. ^ 

(b) *' It repented Jehovah ... it vexed him at his heart," v. 6. This is 
one of the strongest examples of anthropopathism in Genesis. It implies 



[109] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

that Jehovah had no foresight of what man would become when he created 
him and that had he foreseen he would have refrained from creating him. 

(c) It has been assumed by some commentators that the reference to beasts, 
creeping things, and fowl in the J v. 6 : 7 is interpolated; but it seems 
certain that J must have referred to a sentence on the animals which were in 
due course destroyed by the Flood. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.», p. 60f., Skinner, Gen. 
153. The original form of the reference in v. 7 has been modified; v. 7ab is 
inconsistent with 7aa which it is supposed to expound. There is no basis for 
even conjecture as to the older form. 

12 (a) 6:8 introduces Noah as already known. It probably looks back to 
the J clause in 5 : 29. Ryle, Gen. 99. 

(b) Noah is mentioned as a typical pious man in Ezek. 14 : 14, 20; Sir. 
44 : 17; 2 Pet. 2 : 5. 

13 It is clear from 7 : 1 that J had his own account of the Divine command 
to build the Ark and of the actual construction of it. In J the building of the 
Ark is an act of faith on Noah's part (cf. Hebr. 11 : 7). The Flood was " not 
seen as yet " but was first announced in 7 : 4. Gunkel, Gen.3, fii. 

14 7 : 1 " All thy house," cf. the very different manner of P in 6 : 18, 7 : 13, 
8 : 16, 18. 

1^ Except V. 10, these verses (7-10) have been much modified: cf . the de- 
tailed enumeration of Noah's family in v. 7, of beasts, fowl, and creeping things 
in V. 8, and the entrance into the Ark of only two pairs of each species of animal 
without distinction between clean and unclean (so P in 6 : 20, but, cf . J in 
7:2-3). The distinction between clean and unclean (without taking into 
account the numbers) is, of course, from J's hand. 

^^ Cii'.*. '* geshem," ** heavy winter showers." The season of the Flood 
in J is the late winter, seemingly. Cf . Gunkel, Gen.3, (53. 

17 Emended text as suggested by v. 10, Kittel, Bibl. Hebraica, in loc. It is 
better, hov/ever, to think of 8 : 7 as an addition to the original story, Mitchell, 
WBA, 211f. Dillmann, Gen.s, in loc. With the " raven " retained, the 
duration of J's Flood was probably 61 days; omitting 8 : 7 the duration is 54 
days. One may conclude from " yet other " in v. 10 that 61 was the original 
duration in J and that mention of a third " seven davs " has fallen out before 
the first sending forth of the dove, cf . KATs, 558f , Dillmann », 148. It proba- 
bly is true, as some argue (cf. Gunkel, Gen. 5, 64) that the mention of the raven 
comes from another Deluge tradition in which the raven was the only bird sent 
forth (Cf. the Babylonian Deluge Myth, Gilgamesh Epic, Tablet XI.) The 
chronology represented by the original Hebrew text is as follows: 40th day, rain 
ceases; 47th day, first sending out of the dove; 54th day, second sending out 
of the dove; 61st day, third sending out of the dove. Note the climax: dove 
returns at once; dove returns at eventide; dove returns not, = water over all; 
olive trees in leaf; ground dry. 
1* Vd. foregoing note. 

19 V. 13b, J. In P he could see this without removing the covering of the Ark, 
cf . 8 : 5. 

20 The earliest reference to an altar (Skinner, 157). The offerings were 
burnt-offerings; that is, the most honorific kind, and they were propitiatory 
in their purpose. (8 : 21 J.) 

21 ''And Jehovah smelled the sweet savour and Jehovah resolved, etc." (8:21.) 
The anthropomorphism seems to be influenced by the more extreme anthro- 
pomorphism of the Babylonian Deluge narrative in which the gods are said to 
gather as flies about the sacrifice offered by Ut-napish-tim (the Babylonian 
Noah) after the Flood. Other similar Old Testament references do not go as 
far as the present passages, however. Cf. 1 Sam. 26 : 19; Amos 5 : 21; Lev. 
26 : 31; Gunkel, Gen.3, 06. 

22 (a) The three first pairs of terms in 8 : 22 express the two seasons recognized 
in the Hebrew year, Psa. 74 : 17; Nowack, Hebr. Arch, i, 49. Cf. laa. 54 : 9. 

(b) The Divine promise in 8 : 22 (as in some other passages, cf . 9 : 12ff, 26f , 
12 : Iff, 15 : 1, etc.) is in metrical form. The following translation may il- 
lustrate the effect of an EngUsh rhythmical form: 

All the days of the earth never more shall there cease 

The casting of seed and the reaping of corn; 

The months of the frost and the season of heat ; 

The summer and winter; the daylight and dark. 



[110] 



THE DELUGE 

iw 6 : 9-22, 7 : 6, 11, 13, 16a, 17a, 18-21, 24, 8 : l-2a, 3b-5. 

24 Divinity par excellence. 

26 Noah in the view of P was the one altogether righteous man in his own 
generation. His family are saved because of him as its righteous head, cf. 
2 Pet. 2:5. He walked with Elohim and was privileged to see Divine myster- 
ies, Jub. 5 : 19. 

26 The covenant does not look toward the saving of Noah and his family 
in the Ark (Gunkel, Urg. and P., 125) . It is consummated only after the Flood, 
so Skinner, 162f . 

27 The Babylonian vessel, at least in its upper works, was seemingly almost a 
cube, cf. Gressmann, TBAT, 51. Berosus gives its length as five stadia and 
its breadth as two stadia (3034 ft. x 1214 ft.). 

28 The Babylonian Ark had six decks and hence seven stories. Each story 
had nine compartments. Gilgamesh Epic, Tab. XI, 61-63. ** A fair sized 
apartment house," Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 329. 

2» Arabic, zahr, " roof," Gordon, ETG, 316, cf. Skinner,161; LXX, 'eTLcrwdyotv. 
P does not speak of any " \\indow " in the Ark. J does, but for it uses 

yhn, 8 : 6. 

' 30 In 8 J X3b, J, Noah removes the cover of the Ark. Such " window " 
as there was in J's account (8 : 6) did not allow of his seeing the waters. Hence, 
the use of birds, cf. Skinner, 156; vd. supra, p. 108, n. 4. 

31 (a) Cf . J, 7 : 2, etc. 

(b) In 6 : 20, after '* fowl . . . cattle . . . creeping things," LXX adds 
** and of all wild beasts." The addition seems to be required. 

32 LXX, 27th. Josephus reckons the first month to be September-October. 
It is better to take the older Jewish reckoning which would make it March- 
April. Cf . Ryle, Gen. 107. 

33 (a) In the other source 40 days. The greatest depth was 15 cubits above 
the highest mountains, which implies that the Ark could just float ov^er them. 
It was 30 cubits high and 50 cubits broad and would when loaded be sunk to 
about half its height. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 126. The Babylonian house- 
boat or palace was sunk to two-thirds of its mass. Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n 
Traditions, 330. 

When the subsidence of the waters began the Ark would soon ground, 
(b) Water at the maximum height given would be frozen solid. Ryle, Gen. 
109. 

34 In J by natural diminution. 

35 LXX, 27th. 

3« N. E. Armenia. The highest mountain of the region is Massis or Agridagh, 
17,000 ft. Skinner, 166. It is traditionally styled Mount Ararat from a 
misimderstanding of Gen. 8:4. 

37 In P Noah was able to watch the abatement of the waters; in J he sends 
out birds to learn of its progress. He would really have been too high up to 
see conditions on the level. Ryle, Gen. 112. 

38 That is, after 161 days of decrease. In J after 21 days, vd. p. 110, n. 17. 

3» The Greek text makes the Flood begin on the 27th day of the second 
month of the six hundredth year and, therefore, reckoned the total period of 
stay in the Ark at a complete lunar year, instead of a complete solar year, 
Gunkel, Urg. and P., 126; Gen.3, 146. 

P*s stages of the Flood. Years of Noah's life. 

7 : 11. Flood began 600th yr. 2d. mo. 17th day 

Is- ft: Kfu^liS? \ 600th yr. 7th mo. 17th d. 

8 : 5. Mountains visible 600th yr. 10th mo. 1st d. 
8 : 13a. Flood disappeared 601st yr. 1st mo. 1st d. 

8 : 14. Earth dry and debarkation 601st yr. 2d. mo. 27th d. 

between 7:11 and 8 : 4 147^ d., lunar 5 mo. 

between 7 : 24 and 8:5 72 d., lunar 2 mo. 13d. 

between 8 : 5 and 8 : 13a 88^ d., lunar 3 mo. 

between 8 : 13a and 8 : 14 56^ d., lunar 1 mo. 27d. 

Total lunar reckoning, 3d4f d., or 12 mo. 10 d. 



[Ill] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

The 150 days (7 : 24) which corresponds to the first item in the above table 
is from a different source from that followed in the other dates. It is a solar 
reckoning (5 mos. of 30 days each.) 

The Greek has lunar reckoning throughout. It puts in 7:11 and 7 : 24, 
27th for 17th, vd. foregoing notes. 

Some Greek MSS. and the Book of Jubilees distinguish between the date 
when the earth was dry and the date of the debarkation. The former is fixed 
on the 27th day of the second month, while the latter is fixed on the 1st day of 
the third month of the second year. The authorities who make the correction 
probably thought it was needed in order to make the whole period a complete 
solar year. 

*o One is inclined to think that the Deluge began and ended in spring, ac- 
cording to P; cf. the overflowing of the springs and its cessation and, also, the 
Rainbow. 

The immediately following legend of Noah's husbandry (J) and the promise 
in J of seed time and harvest at regular seasons seem to imply a belief in the 
spring time for J's Deluge, also. 

*i Cf. 9 : 1 with Gen. 1 : 28. There are new elements now introduced into 
man's control of the beasts: they are to fear man and he may use all of them 
for food. Hitherto the beasts had been working violence in the earth 6:11, 
and they had not been permitted as food. It is not said that any but wild 
creatures will fear man, however, 9:2. 

42 9 : 4-6. A law here deemed to be of universal application. In the 
Priestly Law eating with the blood is a dire offence, cf. Lev. 3 : 17, 7 : 26-27, 
17:10-14; Ezek. 33 : 25f. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 127, Skinner, 169. The 
prohibition affecting human blood-shedding is in the form of an ancient balanced 
couplet: 

The shedder of the blood of man, 

His blood shall be shed by the hand of man. 

As the Sabbath rest from labor was associated with the Creation so the 
command to desist from the use of blood is connected with the institution of a 
new race under Noah. Ryle, Gen. 112. 

43 It is probable that the rainbow was viewed as Jehovah's war bow (Hw' 7 
qesheth=war bow) reversed and hung up. For the opposite conception of 
the bow in use, cf. Psa. 7 : 12f ; Hab. 3:9; Lam. 2 : 4, 3 : 12. Gunkel, 
Urg. and P., 127f; Gen.3, 150f; Skinner, 172ff. The bow of Marduk with 
which he killed Tiamat is given three names by the god Anu. Of them the 
third, •* Bowstar," is written by Anu in Heaven, Gressmann, 21 (the Baby- 
lonian Epic of Creation). 

4* The same source, P. 

46 On this and other Deluge myths, vd. Skinner, 174-181; Worcester, 
Genesis in the Light of Modern Knowledge, 527tf ; Driver, Genesis, 99-108. 
Gunkel, Gen.3, 67ff. 

*8 (a) The Babylonian story speaks of a ship (" elippu "). It seems as 
though the word " tebah," might be taken from Assyrian " tabiu," used of the 
Ark or processional boat of the gods, cf . root tabu"^, to sink (of boats) ; Mus.s- 
Arnolt, HWB, 1140, 1142. An older derivation looks to the Egyptian, tebt ~ 
ship. 

(b) Gunkel, Urg. and P., 80. While the form mahbM is not found in 
Babylonian or Assyrian, the root from which it is derived is commoa; viz.: 
nabalu^ to destroy. But cf. Dillmann^, 141. It is possible that mabbul was 
also employed in the sense of " destruction " in Hebrew. At all events, J 
and P define the word by adding the appositive " waters," i. e., '* waters of 
the mabbai," J 7 : 7-10, P 9 : 11. The additional word *' waters " would 
hardly be necessary if mdbbM meant only " flood." The regular word for flood 
in Bab.-Ass. was ** abubu." 

*^ '* Kupru," a material employed largely in covering vessels in Babylonia 
and Assyria. Hebrew 1^2, anMy. " Kupru " is the word employed in 
the Babylonian Deluge story, Jensen, K. B., vi. 1, 235f, 489; Zimmern, KAT^, 
558 

4^ Cf. Harper ABL, 353. 

« Harper, ABL, 354. 



[iv. 



THE DELUGE 

*o The rain period was six days, Gilgamesh Epic, Tablet XI, Col. iii. 19f; 
from the start to build to the debarkation was apparently four seven-day 
periods or a month. 

°i In J's account (vd. supra p. 101) as it now stands birds are sent forth four 
times, the raven once and the dove three times. 8 : 7 is an interpolation, how- 
ever, possibly suggested by an older Plebrew tradition, which is more imme- 
diately related to the Babylonian mvth. Berosus speaks simply of birds, 
KAT3, 558. 

" KAT3. 559f . 

=3 It is not to be questioned that under other conditions a vessel of the di- 
mensions given might barely float, but that is not the problem here. Cf. 
Driver, Genesis, in loc. 

^4 In Gen. 7 : 8, 9 (R) the creatures are said to have *' come " to Noah 
into the Ark. 

°'^ 7 : 22, 23 P. Granting that the Hebrew version is without historical 
value one may still enquire wliether the Babylonian account is not connected 
with some remote fact. Two things are noticeable in the account: the " Ark " 
is carried north, i. e., upstream, to the mountains; and the catastrophe 
i? such as occurred neither before nor since and cannot again occur. It is 
therefore out of the natural order. Tliis, in itself, not to speak of the mythical 
elements of the story, points to its being m\'th and not history. Cf. Gunkel, 
Urg. and P., 87; Gen.S 7(3, where the extraordinary feature of the Ark's 
floating upstream, is said to be explicable only on the assumption of some actual 
occurrence in nature. It seems more reasonable to assume that an event 
lying beyond the hmits of actual human observation is improbable. 

»s Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 14f, cf. 18, thinks that the Baby- 
lonian element in the Hebrew Flood narratives came over to Israel at a very 
early date. 

57 Like 5 : 29, J, this story thinks of [Lamech andl Noah as following hus- 
bandry. In a lost opening of the story there was an account given of Noah's 
activity as a husbandman; and we are now told of a new art of the field which 
he introduced to mankind. Of this, also, 5 : 29 is e\ddently aware. It is not 
necessary in view of 5 : 29 to think that the present narrative looks on Noah 
as the first to till the soil as well as the first to have a vineyard. He was, of 
course, the first to estabUsh husbandry after the Flood. Vd. EngUsh ver- 
sions, Dillmann, Genesis 6, in loc. Driver, Genesis, in loc, Gordon, ETG, 
in loc; cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 88; Gen.s, 78f. 

^3 (a) V. 23 R. v., " took a garment"; the Hebrew text has "took the 
garment," a reading which indicates that we have only the fragment of a 
narrative. Noah's " garment " must have been previously mentioned in a 
beginning of the story which has not been preserved; Gunkel, Gen. 3, 79. 

(b) For another incident illustrating the shameless conduct of children 
toward a drunken father, vd. Gen. 19 : 30-38. 

59 In V. 22 we must omit " Ham, the father of," cf. v. 26f. In v. 26, read, 
" Blessed of Jehovah be the tents of Shem," cf. v. 27. Kittel, B. H., in loc; 
cf. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 88. 

Vs. 25-27 seem to reflect rather early conditions: Shem lives in tents; the 
Canaanite, a hated neighbor is anathematized; Japheth is a subject of blessing 
and the wish is expressed that these more remote neighbors may crowd down 
from the north into Shem's tents and assist in the complete subjugation of the 
Canaanite. According to ch. 10, Japheth includes peoples from the Greeks 
on the ^gean to the Medes far away to the northeast. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 
90f ; Gen.3, 79fif; Skinner, Genesis, 184ff. 

Ryle, Gen., adheres to the Massoretic text of the Song. For various inter- 
pretations put upon the passage, vd. Ryle, op. c, 130f . 

60 Dillmann, Genesis e, 157; Skinner, Genesis, ISlff. Gunkel, Gen.3, jgff. 



[113] 



CHAPTER X 
THE TABLE OF PEOPLES IN GEN. 10 



CHAPTER X 
THE TABLE OF PEOPLES IN GEN. 10. ^ 

From the Ark went forth eight persons 

The Hebrew , , -x p i 

View of the as the progemtors of a new human race. 
PeJ)^s°/ In the opinion of the Hebrew thinkers 
and L^^ds ^^^ peoples of the earth bear names which 

correspond to the names of the male de- 
scendants of Noah in the generations following the 
Flood. 2 The human race is therefore divisible into 
three major groups of peoples according as they have 
sprung from Japheth, Ham,^ or Shem. Originally, the 
ancestors of these peoples dwelt together in one home- 
land — such was the older view — and spoke a com- 
mon language. Their dispersion and differentiation 
in speech are accounted for in this earUer view as due 
to a judgment on the profane attempt to build the 
Tower or city of Babel (as Gen. 11 : 1-9 tells). The 
later view^ regards the rise of varying tongues and the 
varying geographical location of peoples as due to 
causes which attend a natural evolution of mankind.^ 
The table of nations in Gen. 10 groups 
The Prindpie the principal peoples known to the Hebrews 
Arrangement in accordauce with their ethnographical 

relationship, geographical proximity being 
also considered in the greater number of cases.® 
There are one or two instances where neither of these 
principles has been observed. Assyria, for example, 
is placed among the African races descended from 
Ham. This striking exception is probably due to a 
misunderstanding: Cush, son of Ham, begets Nim- 

[117] 



ISRAEL'S x\CCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

rod^ and he goes forth from Babylonia and 
founds Assyria. In his source the writer read that 
Nimrod was a man of '' Kash/' and erroneously 
assumed that the African *' Kush '' was intended. 
Hence, the introduction of Nimrod and Assyria 
into the Hamite list. 

Another noteworthy exception is that of Canaan, 
who is placed not wath the other peoples of Syria 
and Palestine, that is, with the Shemite races, but, 
again, with the Hamites. The probable reason for 
this has been discussed in note 41, p. 121, infra. 

Some peoples well within the circle of 
p^^es a Hebrew's knowledge are not mentioned 

in this " table of nations " possibly for the 
reason that thej'- are conceived to be of later origin 
than the seventh generation from the Flood, which 
is as far as the table goes.^ Or it may be, because 
they are to find an account of their origin at a later 
stage in the Book of Genesis.^ 

The " table '^ while lacking in con- 
viiie"o?the ^isteucy and scientific accuracy, has value as 
Chapter affording information concerning the knowl- 

edge of the world and its peoples possessed 
The Genera- ^^ Hebrews of the eighth century (J) and 
sSSlSf Noah *^^ ^^^*^ century B. C. (P), respectively.^^ 
(The Grouping The affiliations of the peoples are set 

of the Peoples) /. xi • xi p ^^ ' 

forth in the manner loUowing: 



[118] 



THE TABLE OF PEOPLES 



Ist Generation; NOAII 



2d Generation: JAPHETH 



3d Gen.: 1. Gomern 

pnn3 of 2. Magog^s 

Japiieth(P).3. Madai^s 

4. Javani7 

5. Tubal-'2 

6. Meshech2s 

7. Tiras='4 



3d Gen.: 1. Cush-^s 
sons of 2. Misraim^^ 

Ham(P). 3. Put«> 

4. Canaan*! 



4th Gen.: Ashkenaz^^ 
sons of Riphatb'3 

Gomer(P). Togarmahi* 



sons of 
Javan (P). 


Elishah^s 
Tarshishi* 
Kittim^o 
Rodanim^i 




2d Generation: HAM 




1th Gen.: 
sons of 

Cusii(P). 


Seba'-^ 
Havilah-:?7 

Sabtah-'s 

Raamab2» 

Sabtecah» 


(J). Xi'nro F'^ (.sou of 

Cash) 
sous of Ludi>n'^^ 
M i^.rai rn A n a /n irn ^ 
(J). Lfh.xbi>u^^ 

JS 'Ji^htu.'tim^^ 
P'ithruyirrv^- 
C'.tsluhioi'^ 
Caphtorim^^ 

sons of Zidon 
Canaan Heih*- 
(J). 


sons of ^ Philistines^^ 
Caphtorini (J). 
[Caduhim?] 




2d Generation: SHEM 





5th Gen.: Sheba^^ 
sons of Dedan44 

R-aamah (P). 



3d Gen.: 1. Elam^* jlthGen.: Uz^^ son of 

Fons of 2. Asshur*^ sons of HuPs Arpachshad 

Sheni(P). 3. Arpachshad^ Aram(P), GetherSi (J). 

4. Lud5o Mash^a 

5. Aram'i 1 



oth Gen. 
pons of 
Shelah(P). 



Eber^e 



6th Gen.: Pelegs? 
sons of Joktan^s 
Eber(P). 



j 7th Gen.: 
sons of 
IJoktan (P). 



Shelah^^ 



Various Ara- 
bian tribes, 12 
(13?) in aU. 



NOTES ON CHAPTER X 

1 (a) Analysis ofch. 10. 

P 1-7, 20, 22, 23, 24, 31,32. 

J'S-lo, 18b, 19,21,25-30. 

Additions. 16-18a; cf. Steuemagel, Einl. i. d. Alte Test., Sec. 36. 

(b) The beginning of J's genealogy is found in 9 : 18-19. 

(c) The plurality of sources is well illustrated by the double beginning, 
9 : 18 n 10 : la; the duplicates 10 : 21 !l 10 : 22a; the repetition of Sheba 
and Havilah (10 : 7 under Gush, son of Ham; 10 : 28, 29, under Joqtan of the 
line of Shem). Cf. Gunkel, Gen.s, 84; Skinner, Gen. 187ff. 

2 Cf. the (jreek claim of descent from Helien through his three sons, Dorus, 
Aeolus, and Xuthus, and the two sons of Xuthus, Ion and Achaeus. From these 
come: Dorians, Aeohans, lonians, Achaeans. Driver, Genesis, 112ff. 

3 While Shem and Japheth are mentioned only in the eariy chapters in Genesis 
and in the parallel genealogy in 1 Chi'on. 1, Ham occurs in the Psalms (78 : 51, 



[119] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

105 : 23-27, 106 : 22) as a name for Egypt. There, however, it ig probably 
the equivalent of the native Egyptian name for Egypt, K&met (Coptic Ktmi, 
chSmi). Aa such it has nothing to do with Ham, son of Noah; but of. Gunkel, 
Gen.«, 87. 

4 Cf. P in Gen. 10 : 5, 20, 31, 32. 

6 Skinner, Genesis, 2, 192ff. 

6 Compare the principle set forth by P in vs. 5, 20, 31. *' According to 
their families, tongues, lands, and nations." Cf. Driver, Genesis^, 113; 
Skinner, Genesis, 192f. 

' For a full discussion of the passage, Gen. 10 : 8-12, vd. Gunkel, Gen.', 
87-89. In the Hebrew legend Nimrod seems to have been connected with 
Assyria, particularly (Mic. 5:6). In Gen. 10 : 8-12 he is a Babylonian king 
who founded the kingdom of Assyria. He was the very first ** gibbor " (hero) ; 
what this implies is explained: he was a mighty hunter, a mighty ruler, a 
mighty conqueror, and a mighty founder of cities. The *' gibborim " (heroes) 
of (jen. 6 : 1-4 were famous mighty men, born of angels and human m others, 
who caused much violence on the earth and were destroyed by the Flood. 

This Nimrod (whose name is fictitious and may mean ** rebel ") found certain 
cities already existing in Babylonia and then went north into Assyria and 
established other cities there. It is significant that the city Asshur is not 
among these. It was the capital of Assyria until ca. 1300 B. C. (Gunkel, 
Urg. and P., 94.) On the other hand, Nineveh is called the capital (" the 
same is the great city," =capital, has been misplaced. It should go with 
Nineveh). N. became the capital of Assyria under Sennacherib, 705-681 
B. C, though it was an important religious centre at different periods before 
that (E. Bi., Art. Nineveh). The position ascribed to Nineveh accords only 
with a date after 700 B.C.; hence, the record in this passage must be placed 
after that date. Probably, the note '* the same is the great city" or capital, is 
to be treated as a late interpolation in the text. (Cf. Gunkel, op. c, 91.) 

Of the cities of Nimrod, Babel = Babylon, 50 miles south of Baghdad on 
the left bank of the Euphrates: Erech =«mod. Warka, ca. 100 miles southeast 
from Babylon. 

Accad =a city located probably near Baghdad on the Euphrates. 

Calneh has not been located; Shinar is in the Old Testament an old name for 
Babylonia, Gen. 11 : 2; Josh. 7 : 21 marg., etc.; . 

Nineveh =mod. ruins of Nebi Yunus (Jonah) and Kuyunjik, east of the 
Tigris opposite Mosul; Rehoboth-ir is not a proper name, and what it refers 
to is not clear. 

Calah=mod. NimrCld, 20 miles south of Nineveh; Resen is unidentified. 

The passage quite correctly implies that Assyria was colonized from Baby- 
lonia and owed its civilization to that country. 

8 This may be the ground of omission in the case of Persia, which was no 
doubt well known to P (cf. Ezek. 27 : 10, 38 : 5), but seemed to him a 
** new '* people. 

The Chaldeans as we shall see appear to be covered by Arpachshad; vd. 
note 48, p. 122. 

That Koa, Shoa, and Pekod, which are already known to Ezekiel (23 : 23) 
and Minni, which is mentioned in Jeremiah (51 : 27), should be left out is 
probably not to be ascribed to intention. They were not familiarly known. 
Cf. Skinner, Genesis 191; KAT3, 101, 103. 

9 Moab and Ammon (Gen. 19 : 30-38), the Keturite tribes (Gen. 25 : Iff), 
the Ishmaelite tribes (C^en. 25 : 12-18), the Edomites (Gen. 36 : Iff) are all 
younger peoples of whom an account is given at a later stage. 

As for Arabia (cf. Jer. 25 : 24) it seemed to be covered by the particular 
Arabian peoples which were taken into account. 

io Driver, Genesis?, 112ff. 

" Ezek. 38 : 6. Ass. Gimirrai. 

12 Jer. 51 :27 "Ararat, Minni, Ashkenaz"; Ass. Ashkuza, between Lake 
Urumia and the Caspian Sea. 

13 Unidentified. 

14 Ezek. 27 : 14, 38 : 6. Asa. Tilgarimmu, a city far up on the Euphrates 
and near to the country of the Tabali (Tubal) . Jeremias, ATAO^, 260. 

J^ Ezek. 38 : 2, 39 : 6. 
i«Ass. Madai. 

[120] 



THE TABLE OF PEOPLES 

" Ezek. 27 : 13, Isa. 66 : 19, Joel 3 : 6, Zech. 9 : 13, Dan. 8 : 21, 10 : 20. 
11:2. Mentioned along with Tubal in Isa. 66 : 19, and in Ezek. 27 : 13, the 
same grouping as here; " Javan, Tubal, Meshech." lonians of Asia Minor in 
the first instance. In Old Testament Greeks generally. 

18 Ezek. 27 : 7. Location very uncertain; the most plausible suggestion 
connects Elishah with the Alashia (Cyprus) of the Amarna Letters; Skinner, 
Genesis, 198; cf. Gordon, ETG, 320. 

!• Jer. 10 : 9, Ezek. 27 : 12, Isa. 66 : 19, 23 : 1, 6, 10, Jonah 1:3,4:2. 
A colony of Tyre in southern Spain at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. 

20 Jer. 2 : 10, Ezek. 27 : 6, Num. 24 : 24, etc. If Elishah be not Cyprus 
this may be. A chief city of the island was Kition (mod. Larnaca). It cannot 
be restricted to Cyprus, however, as the regular form of reference is " the isles 
or coasts of Kittim." Cf. Skinner, Genesis, 199. 

21 The Hebr. text Gen. 10 : 4 reads Dodanim (C^^J^*), but 1 Chr. 1 : 7, 
which transcribes this Hst,_ reads correctly Rodanim (u*'inl"l)' Vd. Kittel, 
Biblia Hebraica, in loc. Skinner, Genesis, 199. The reference is to the people, 
not the island, of Rhodes; cf. the plural form of the word. 

22 Mentioned in Old Testament with Javan, Isa. 66 : 19; with Javan and 
Meshech, Ezek. 27 : 13; with Meshech, Ezek. 38 : 2f, 39 : 1. Ass. Tabali 
(Tibareni) in Cappadocia, north of the Anti-Taurus. E. Bi., Art. Tubal. 

23 Ass. Muski, northeast of Tubal, E.Bi., 1. c. 

2* Identified by B. Jub. 9 : 13 with four islands '* near to the coasts of Ham." 
Tirasisnowregarded as identical with the people mentioned in Egyptian records 
of the time of Meneptah as the Turusha, a Pelasgian race of piratical habits. 
Of the same stock probably are the Etruscans. Gordon, ETG, 320. Skin- 
ner, Genesis, 199f ; Baton, E. H. S. P., 133. 

^^ Ethiopia = Egyptian, Kosh, Ass. Kusu. Skinner, Genesis, 200f . 

2s Probably on the African coast of the Red Sea. Cf. Dillmann, in loc; 
E. Bi., Art. Seba. 

25^ The northern part of Arabia, especially to the northeast. E. Bi,, Art. 
Havilah. Cf. Gen. 2 : 11, 10 : 29, 25 : 18, an Arabian people descended from 
Joktan; 1 Sam. 15 : 7 (text?). 

28 Sabtah. Identity unknown. Possibly, Sabota, a great trading centre in 
Hadramaut, mentioned by Strabo, xvi : iv. 2 and PHny, Hist. Nat. vi : 155, 
xii : 63. 

2» Ezek. 27 : 22, mentioned along with Sheba as trading with Tyre in spices, 
precious stones and gold. There is a Minean inscription which places Raarnah 
south of Ma'^n in Arabia. Cf . the Rammanites north of Hadramaut in Strabo 
(xvi : iv. 24). They are probably the people of this Raarnah. Skinner, 
Genesis, 203. 

20 Unknown as yet. 

31 Nimrod is here used of a legendary hero, not of a people. 

32 =Egypt. The name Misraim has the appearance of a Hebrew dual 
noun. As a dual it has been thought to connote the di%Tision of Egypt into 
Lower and Upper Egypt, a distinction which is common in Egyptian 
records. If the form be a real dual, which has been disputed, the Hebrews seem 
to be alone among ancient peoples in employing a dual name to describe Egypt. 
Skinner, Genesis, 201. 

33 =Lydians, according to some, Jeremias, ATAO^, 274; others =Lutu or 
Rutu, i. e., Egyptians proper, Mitchell, W. B. A., 250; others an error for 
Lubim = Libyans, but these are rather the Lehabim, q. v. No certain identifica- 
tion can be made. 

34 Unidentified. 

85 Lehabim = Lubim = Libyans, Nah. 3:9; 2 Chr. 12:3, 16:8; Dan. 
11 :43. 

3« Possibly, the Na-pat(ih, the people of the Delta, Skinner, Genesis, 213; 
cf. Gunkel, Gen.s, 90. 

37 =the land of the South =Upper Egypt, Jer. 44 : 1, 15; Isa. 11 : 11, etc. 

38 Unidentified. 

39 In the age of Thothmes iii (15th century, B. C.) the name given to a non- 
Semitic region identified with the Mediterranean coasts of Asia Minor and the 
outlying islands; =Keftiu. E. Bi,, Art. Caphtor; Skinner, Genesis, 213f. 

« Nah. 3:9; Jer. 46 : 9; Ezek. 27 : 10, 30 : 5, 38 : 5, etc. In Old 
Testament references found along with Cush, Egypt, Lud, Libya. The most 



[121] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

plausible identification is with the country named Pwnt on the Egyptian records. 
It was located on the Somali coast of the Red Sea. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 129. 
41 Canaan is placed among the *' sons of Ham " out of the same feeling that 
led to the framing of the mythical story in Gen. 9 : 20-27 (J). Both records 
are due to the strong prejudice felt toward the Canaanites of the seaboard 
after Omri's policy of Zidonian alliance had brought Baal worship into Israel. 
Elijah, Amos, and Hosea reflect the same anti-Canaanite feeling before or in 
the age when J wrote. It is at the same time possible that the active relations 
between the Phoenician seaports and Egypt may have suggested that the 
Canaanites of the seaboard were descended from Ham. 

Zidon is a general term for the Phoenicians. Jdg. 3 : 3, 18 : 7; 1 Kgs. 
5:6,11 :l-5, 16:31. 

Heth =Hittites, Gen. 23, 25 : 10, 27 : 46b, 49 : 32 all P. When the 
prophetic historian J thinks of two peoples distinct from the Hebrews, the 
one Zidon, the other Heth, he is probably thinking of the Phoenicians of the 
seaboard, on the one hand, and the Hittites from Hamath to the Taurus and 
the Euphrates, on the other. For the peoples mentioned in vs. 16-19 vd. note 
42. 

*2 The three verses 16-18a seem to represent an addition to the original text- 
Of the peoples named therein every one has the name given in Gentilic form. 
Jebusites, a people connected with Jerusalem, Jdg. 19 : 10; 2 Sam. 5 : 6-9. In 
Josh. 10 the King of Jerusalem is said to be an Amorite prince. Cf . Gunkel, 
Gen.s, 90. 

Amorites. In J, a competing people alongside of the Canaanites in West- 
ern Canaan. Thej' had, also, two strong kingdoms of their own on the east 
side of Jordan before the entrance of Israel. 

Girgashites, unidentified. Cf. Gergesa? (Lk. 8 : 26 R. V. marg.) 
Hivites, found near Gibeon and Shechem, Gen. 34 : 2; Josh. 9 : 7, both these 
cities are Amorite centers, 2 Sam. 21 : 2; Gen. 48 : 22. 

Arkites == ' Arqa, the Irkata of the Araarna Letters. Situated twelve miles 
north of Tripoli, about 80 miles north of Zidon. 
Sinites = Sianu of the Ass. inscrr.; near 'Arqa. 

Arvadites = Aradus, an island city, 35 miles north of Tripoli, cf. Ezek. 27 : 
8, 1 1. Mod. Ruwad, on an island, ca. 100 miles north of Zidon. 

Semarites =Ass. Simirra, an important city north of Gebal and Berytus 
(Beyrout). Mod. Sumra, a few miles south of Ruwad. 

Hamathites. There was a kingdom of Hamath which bordered on Israel's 
territory to the north. It was an Amorite state before it became a Hittite 
kingdom in the 14th century, B. C. Its capital bore the same name and is 
represented by the modern Hama on the Orontes. 

43 Sheba is given by P as a son of Joktan (v. 29) and by J in Gen. 25 : 3 
as a son of Abraham by his concubine Keturah. It represents the Sabeans 
who had a flourishing kingdom at a very early date in southwestern Arabia. 
At a later date, they displaced the Minean Kingdom in northern Arabia. There 
they are tributaries of Tiglathpileser iii and Sargon ii (745-705 B. C). Sheba 
is a far away country of great wealth in the Old Testament references. Cf. 
Skinner, Genesis, 203f . Seba is a more correct spelling. 

"Associated with Sheba, Gen. 25 : 3; Ezek. 38 : 13; with Tema, Isa. 21 : 13f ; 
Jer. 25 : 23; located near Edom, Jer. 49 : 8; Ezek. 25 : 13, cf. mod. Daidan 
a ruin heap west of Teima, where the trade routes from dififerent parts of 
Arabia meet. Skinner, Genesis, 204. 

45 Cf . Amos 9 : 7, where the Philistines are traced to the Caphtorim ; so 
Jer. 47 : 4; Dt. 2 : 23. It is evident that "Philistines " was not in the original 
Hebrew text. It is now in its wrong place and represents, no doubt, a marginal 
gloss intended to expand and explain " Caphtorim." The Philistines take 
their name from the Purusati one of a number of non-Semitic tribes who were 
opposed to Egypt in Palestine in the thirteenth century, B. C. ; cf . the Turusha , 
n. 24, supra. They took possession of the southern portion of the Maritime 
Plain in the twelfth century, B. C, and organized five strong city states at 
Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. From these cities they controlled 
the surrounding country. The coming of the Philistines was followed after a 
short interval by the arrival of Israel in Canaan. Cf. Gunkel, Gen.3, 90. 

*« Elam was at times a pro^ance of Babylonia. Its population in the third 



1122] 



THE TABLE OF PEOPLES 

millennium, B. C, may have been largely Semitic. It became, later, the Persian 
province of Susiana. Skinner, Genesis, 204f . 

*7 Asshur = Assyria. In v. 11 (J) correctly represented as a land colonized 
by settlers coming up from Babylonia. 

*8 The identification of Arpachshad has caused much difficulty. In both 

10 : 23f and 11 : 12-14 he is a near ancestor of Eber. We should expect, 
therefore, that he might have something to do with " Ur Kasdim," or at least 
the " land of the Kasdim," whence P derives the Hebrews (cf. 11 : 31 P and 
the addition from P at the end of 11 : 28). But it so happens that P's list 
in Gen. 10 never mentions the Kasdim, much as we might expect that it should; 
that is, unless the name lies in this mysterious Arpachshad. If we can account 
for the first part of this name, the second part (chshad) gives just what is 
wanted, namely, the name " Chesed " as that of the country of the Chaldees, 
Chasdim, or Kasdim. Now, as to the first part Carp), it might easily be a 
corruption of the word for " land-of " Cars.). In the Greek text of Gen. 

11 : 28-31 the translator found before him as the Hebrew reading of P, not 
Ur Kasdim (MT), but precisely the expression " land of the Kasdim." We 
may assume, then, that P was famiUar with the expression " land of Kesed or 
Chesed " and may follow this assumption with the further assumption that 
Arpachshad is an ancient corruption of the expression in question. It is 
barely possible that P himself made up the awkward compound 'Arskshad, 
or 'Ereskeshad, so as to introduce " the land of Kesed or Keshed " into his 
list of nations. ^ This was later corrupted to read Arpachshad. The changes 
in Hebrew writing may be roughly represented as follows: P wrote "i*^^^^*^^• 
Owdng to subsequent textual corruption MT reads ""vI/^^'^K- 

Accepting this explanation of Arpachshad, the various explanations looking 
toward all other regions may be passed by, and the name may be connected 
with the region of Babylonia, which in P's day was, in fact, the " land of the 
Kasdim, Chasdim, or Chaldeans." Cf. Mitchell, W. B. A., 258; Gunkel, 
Urg. and P., 129; Skinner, Genesis, 205f. 

49 The Greek reads in v. 24: '* And Arpachshad begat Kenan and Kenan 
begat Shelah. . . " The Greek similarly inserts Kenan between Arpachshad 
and Shelah in Gen. 11 : 12, 13. In 10 : 24 the addition of Kenan seems to be 
due to the reading of the Greek in Gen. 11 : 12, 13 (q. v.). Cf. Kittel, B. H., 
in loc. 

^ There seems to be a corruption of the text in the closing words of v. 22. 
There is no apparent reason as the text now stands for immediately continuing 
the descent of Aram in v. 23. Through the influence of the words ** and 
Arpachshad " just preceding and the words " and Arpachshad begat " at the 
beginning of v. 24, we have the reading " and Lud and Aram " at the end of v. 
22, where we should have ** and Arpachshad begat Aram." That is, for the 

MT, y. 22b, cnNl '^rh) ^iZ'Zt^^H) we should read C^.is* ib^ n^^^ITC^NI 
In this way the inexplicable Lud is removed and v. 23 appears as a 
natural continuation of v. 22. V. 24 does not follow v. 23 very naturally 
in any case, but its position is made better by the proposed change in v. 22. 
P first accounts for the older Aramean people as descendants of Kesed (Arpach- 
shad) and then goes on to shew that Eber (Hebrews) is a collateral line from 
Kesed, but of later origin. Eber is, however, not really very late in appearing, 
being as old as the ancient tribes of the Syrian Desert (Uz, Hul, etc.). Cf. 
Skinner, Genesis, 206. 

*i Ass. Aramu, Aram^. A widespread Semitic race who are found from the 
early part of the second millennium, B. C, all through the Old Testament 
period, coming up from the shores of the Persian Gulf and gradually migrating 
northwestward until they reach the Mediterranean; and, then, moving south- 
ward imtil they strike into Arabia and Egypt. Aram is older than Chesed 
in Gen. 20: 22 (J). 

52 Cf. Job 1 : 1; Jer. 25 : 20; Lam. 4 : 21. In J, Gen. 22 : 21, Uz is an uncle 
of Aram; in P, Gen. 36 : 28, Uz and Aran are grandsons of Seir. 

33 Cf . Huleh between Emesa and Tripohs, Dillmann, Genesis «, 197. 

54 Unidentified. 

55 The mountain range TCir 'Abdin, north of Nisibis, of old. Mount Masius. 
This is the most plausible suggestion. Skinner, Genesis, 207. 

56 In P, Eber is a son of Shelah and grandson of Shem (so v. 24, but cf . note 

[123] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

49, supra). In J, v. 21, is a difFerent view of Eber: ** And to Shem even to 
him, the father of the Eberites (Hebrews) , were children born." This makes 
Shem and Eber to be one and the same, apparently. In this case, Eber- 
Hebrews is an older and not a younger people than Aram as vs. 23-24 imply. 
The prevailing view in the Old Testament, and probably the correct view, 
is that the Hebrew people are an offshoot of the great Aramean group. There 
is some question as to whether the name " Hebrew " did not originally apply 
more widely than to Israel alone. In the Amarna correspondence of the 
15th-14th centuries, B. C, mention is often made of a people of the Syrian 
desert named the Habiri (and also SA-GAS, KAT^, 196-198) who are 
making incursions into the agricultural portions of Canaan, especially toward 
the south. They effect a settlement in the land at that early period, when as 
yet there is no Hebrew-Israelite people there. There is good reason to regard 
the names Habiri and Hebrew as identical, and if so, the case for an applica- 
tion of the name in one or other form to peoples outside of Israel is a fairly 
clear one. As to who these non-Israelite Hebrews who preceded Israel in 
Canaan may be, we may conjecture that the very closely related peoples, 
Ammon, Moab, Edom, whom the Hebrew-Israelites found already settled 
there when they came out of Egypt were among those included. 

The Old Testament writers think of the term Hebrew as in the first instance 
an appellative with the meaning " those who came from the other side," 
sc. of the River. The river alluded to was without doubt the Euphrates. Gen . 
12:5 (P),24:4, 7 (J); Josh. 24:2 (E); Gordon, ETG., 171f; Skinner, 
Genesis, 217f : Paton, E. H. S. P.. 110-114. 

" Gen. 10 : 25 anticipates the story of Gen. 11 : 1-9 (J) and is hardly con- 
sistent with statements in Gen. 10 itself, which imply the development of 
races and the occupation of their several countries at an earlier time than is 
here implied. 

^ Joktan = Qahtan of the Arab genealogers. He is the ancestor of the various 
tribes of the Arabian peninsula, Dillmann, Genesis 6, 198. 

Among the thirteen tribes traced in this passage to Joktan *Obal is read 
Ebal in the Samaritan and in 1 Chron. 1 : 22; the Greek of Lucian read Gebal; 
one MS. of the LXX omits the name. In view of this evidence it may be 
best to consider leaving out *Obal, in which case there will remain twelve 
Joktanide Arab tribes, as there are twelve Ishmaelite tribes (Gen. 25 : 12ff) 
and twelve tribes of Israel and twelve Nahorites (Gen. 22 : 20-24). 

Among the Joktanide peoples occur the names of some well-known regions: 
Hazarmaveth (=Hadramaut), Ophir (an Arabian folk for this author), Havi- 
lah ( =northern Arabia), and Sheba (vd. note 43, supra). 



[124] 



CHAPTER XI 
THE TOWER OF BABEL. Gen. 11:1-9 (J) 



CHAPTER XI 

THE TOWER OF BABEL. Gen. 11:1-9 (J) 

This is the Prophetic writer's account of the 
manner in which the posterity of Noah were dispersed 
over the earth^ and came to acquire their 
The Motive several languages. It will be recalled that 
Narrative the Priestly writer's Hst of Noah's descend- 
ants presupposes the dispersion of the 
nations and the existence of different languages. The 
present narrative illustrates the thesis of the Jehovist 
author that multiplied human inventions bring 
multiplied toil and trouble to men. The idolatrous 
ambition of men to rival Deity was visited with 
punishment in that men came to have languages that 
could not be understood by their fellows and came to 
live at great distances from one another. ^ It does not 
occur to the author that difference in speech would 
not be a probable cause for the dispersion of mankind, 
but that, on the contrary, variety of environment 
due to dispersion is the more natural cause of diver- 
gence in physical type and language.^ 

In the passage as we have it two separate 
T^^composite myths have been combined ^ (a) One 
the Narrative relating to the building of a city, and ac- 
counting for the name Babel, and at the 
same time for the diversity of human tongues; (b) the 
other concerning the building of a lofty temple- 
tower,^ and accounting for the removal of peoples to 
different parts of the earth. 

[127] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

(a) Myth concerning the origin of diverse 
languages:^ 

Vs. 4a and b, And they said, Come let us build 
us a city . . . lest we be scattered abroad upon the 

face of the whole earth. 
The^tory of Vs. 6a, And Jehovah said, Behold they 
of Babel are one people and they have all one 
language. . . . 

Vs. 7, Come, let us go down, and there confound 
their language, that they may not understand one 
another's speech. 

Vs. 8b, [So Jehovah confounded their language] 
and they left off to build the city. 

Vs. 9, Therefore was the name of it called Babel; 
because Jehovah did there confound the language of 
all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter 
them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 

(b) Myth concerning the dispersion of the 
human race: 

Vs. 2, And it came to pass as they journeyed east- 
wards^ that they found a plain^ in the land of Shinar; 

and they dwelt there. 
'thefem\e^ Vs. 3, And they said one to another. 
Tower Come, let us make brick and burn them 

hard. And they had brick instead of 
stone and bitumen^ instead of mortar. 

Vs. 4b, [And they said, Come let us build us] a 
tower whose top shall reach unto heaven, ^^ and let us 
make us a name. 

Vs. 5, And Jehovah came down^^ to see the • . . 
tower which the children of men builded. 

Vs. 6b, [And Jehovah said] this is the beginning of 

[128] 



THE TOWER OF BABEL 

their doing and now nothing will be withholden from 
them which they may purpose to do. 

Vs. 8a, So Jehovah scattered them abroad from 
thence upon the face of all the earth. ^^ 

The composite character of the passage 

ui"^pis?agi seems plain from the facts which follow: 

the two subjects, tower and city; the 

inconsistency of the duplicate in vs. 7 after vs. 5; the 

inconsistency of the duplicate in vs. 9b after vs. 8a. 

The etymology of the name Babel as from the 
Hebrew root balal, 'Ho confuse,'^ is entirely fanciful. 
The origin as explained by Babylonian records is 
'^bab,'' ^^gate of,^' and, '"iW '/god.'' The account 
of the foundation of Babel is quite different from that 
which is found in Gen. 10: 10, where it is the chief 
city of Nimrod's kingdom and exists long before the 
assumed dates of the present incidents.^^ 

In one of the myths the cause of the judgment is 
self-willed ambition ;^^ in the other, where a temple- 
tower is in question it is that and more, inasmuch as 
idolatry is implied. 

Generally speaking, Shinar is for the prophetic 
writers of the Old Testament the land of idolatry 
and wickedness (cf. Zech. 5 : 8-11). 

NOTES ON CHAPTER XI 

1 Cf. Gen. 10 : 25 (J). 

* Dillmann, Genesis*, 203. Cf. Jastrow, Hebr. and Babyl'n Traditions, 6. 

3 Driver, Genesis^, 132ff. 

< The narrative is taken as representing a single enterprise in Jub. 10 : 18-27. 

s Babel was deemed the oldest and greatest of cities (10 : 10), and it would 
be no strange thing for Hebrews at different periods to see therein a great 
temple-tower partly finished or falling into ruin. Jastrow, R. B. A., 642-651; 
Sayce, Relig. of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, 449ff. Egypt, likewise, fur- 
nished suggestive illustration in its crumbling pyramids, Erman, Life in Ancient 
Egypt, 26, 39, 325f; Petrie, Hist. Ancient Egypt, i, 32f, 58ff, etc.; Gunkel, 
Gen.3, 96f . 

« The myth looks back to the historical fact that Babylon was a great cosmo- 
politan centre of commerce where people of many races and tongues had 
gathered from early times; Gunkel, Gen.', 98. 

' Perhaps, we should render the Hebrew: ** As they went from place to place 
in the East," cf . Gunkel, Gen.3, 94. 

^ neSCov /xf'ya, Herodotus calls the vicinity of Babylon, Dillmann, Genesis^, 
205. 

[129] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

f (a) Dillraann, op. cit., 206. Vs. 3 describes the discov^ery of the arts of 
brick making and building, Gunkel, Gen.3, 94, 9(j. 

(b) This story originated where buildings were made of stone and mortar. 
Hence not in Babylonia. There is no reason against its having originated in 
Palestine. 

w Often said of Babylonian temple towers, Jeremias, ATAO2, 278. 

" In the mythology of the Hebrews, Jehovah dwelt on earth in the primi- 
tive age of mankind (cf. Gen. 2-4) and possibly down to the time of the Deluge; 
at least, the ** sons of God " who are on earth at the Creation (cf. Job 38 : 4-7) 
are said to marry on earth human wives in the age just before the Flood. 
In this story Jehovah comes from heaven as he regularly does later. 

12 For a different analysis, vd. Gunkel, Urg. and P., 95; Skinner, Genesis, 
in loc. Some have assumed that an original polytheistic myth or myths lies 
back of Gen. 11 : 1-9 (cf. v. 7). This maj^ be so, but the authors of the Hebrew 
versions can hardly have known of any polytheistic connections of the story or 
stories. Cf. Skinner, 227, 228ff. 

^3 The truth is that this city legend has been misplaced. It relates to the 
building of the first city and should have been brought in among the earliest 
developments of civilization, cf. Gen. 4 : 17. The tower legend belongs to 
the same early stage; but vd. note on v. 5, supra. 

In its present position Gen. 11 : 1-9 is deliberately placed by the editor of 
Genesis side by side with Gen. 10 as an alternative account of the origin of 
languages and races. In the same way, he of full purpose set side by side the 
two Creation narratives (Gen. 1 and 2), and the parallel genealogies (Gen. 
4 : 16ffandGen. 5). 

1* Cf. the severe judgment of the early prophets on the manners of city life. 



[130] 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PRIESTLY WRITER'S GENEALOGY 
OF SHEM 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PRIESTLY WRITER'S GENEALOGY 
OF SHEM 

The passage in Gen. 11 : 10-26 is taken up 
with the Priestly writer's genealogy of Shem. 

In Gen. 10, there was a fragment of P's 
Gen.^10*^ ^*^ account of the Shemites. There, the sons 

of Shem, presumably in order of age, 
are, Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram; and 
yet the descent is continued through Aram.^ Here 
Arpachshad is the eldest son and the descent con- 
tinues through him. The next steps, Shelah, Eber, 
Peleg, agree with P's genealogy of the Shemites in 
Gen. 10 : 24f . 

This genealogy has the usual ten^ 
Thej^rt^- generations of the Priestly source; but, 
Life ^*°^ whereas in the genealogy of Adam, the 

generations were rough multiples of thirty 
years, here the generation is roughly speaking thirty 
years, except for the one hundred years in the 
case of Shem (because it has been already intimated 
that he had no son when he entered the Ark, Gen. 
6 : 18 [P], cf. 5 : 32), and the approximate double gen- 
eration in the case of Terah.^ There seems to be a 
purpose to represent life as growing shorter from Shem 
downward (cf. Sam.). In the Hebrew text Terah's 
case alone contradicts this. The whole period 
covered by the genealogy is 292 years in the Masso- 
retic text. In the Septuagint it is given as 1070 years 
and in the Samaritan, as 940 years.^ No doubt, the 

[133] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Hebrew is nearest the original, it being the intention 
as stated above to shew that human Hfe was becoming 
shorter as time passed.^ 

The Samaritan supplies in the case of each name 
the total age at death. The LXX simply adds to 
M. T. in each case the words " and he died/' 

THE GENE- ^^^^ accouut of J, 11 : 28-30 . . . and 
TERAH pfra ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ preseuce of Terah his 
phrase of Gen. father in the land of his nativity/ the land 

11. 27—32 

of the Chaldees.^ Abram and Nahor 
married Sarai and Milcah, respectively. Milcah was 
Haran's daughter,^ and sister of Iscah. Sarai was 
childless.^ 

The account of P, 11 : 27, 31, 32. 

The generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, 
Nahor, Haran; Haran begat Lot. Terah, Abram, 
Lot, and Sarai, Abram's wife, started from Ur^^ 
of the Chaldees for Canaan. They arrived at Harran^^ 
and remained there. Terah died there, aged 205. ^^ 

The world traditions of Gen. 1-11 
The Narrow- now have giveu place to a distinctly ethnic 

mg Scope of . ® ri n • li- 

the Tradition tradition, that of the Semites, and this 

will at once give place to a tradition relat- 
ing solely to the Hebrews. 

Corresponding to this restriction of interest, myths 
tend to become fewer, legends increase in number, 
and a definitely historical element emerges in the 
narratives of the Hebrew patriarchs. 



NOTES ON CHAPTER XII 

1 The text in Gen. 10 : 22-24 is corrupt (vd. supra) ; cf . suggested emenda- 
tions, notes 48 and 50, page 123f. The Priestly editor has reckoned in Gen. 
10 on the genealogy of Shem and Arpachshad as about to appear in his narra- 
tive, though the same original hand is not responsible for P's genealogy in 
Gen. 10, and P's list in Gen. 11 : 10-26. 

[134] 



GENEALOGY OF SHEM 

* There are only nine in MT, but LXX introduces Kenan (Kati'a»/) after 
Arpachshad. LXX has the same addition in 10 : 24. The addition probably 
does not represent what originally stood in the text. The original was proba- 
bly illegible to the Greek translator. He resorts to conjecture; while the 
Hebrew textual tradition has omitted altogether the member of the genealogy 
concerned and left the total number of names one short. 

« LXX adds Kenan 130 + 600, or 100 years each for six generations from 
Arpachshad to Serug -f 50 years for Nahor =780. 

* Sam'n is same aa Greek, but omits Kenan. Jub. lOf allows double the 
natural generation in all cases except Shem, 102 years, and gives the total 669. 
Dillmann, Genesis.a 209f . 

* Dillmann, Genesis^, 210. Accepting the Hebrew text we may note that 
it makes Noah, Shem, and all their descendants, contemporary with Abram. 
Moreover, Shem, Shelah, and Eber overlive Abram. The LXX and Sam. 
avoid these awkward difficulties by increasing the interval between Abram' s 
predecessors and himself, Mitchell, W. B. A., 276n. A correction must be 
made in the case of the period of Eber's life after the birth of Peleg. Read 
370 years (11 : 17), Dillmann<J, 210 (cf. Samaritan, LXX). 

The names in the list, as far as identified, stand related to Aramean place 
names. This seems to be true of Shelah, Reu, Serug, Terah (cf. Gunkel, Urg. 
and P., 130; Skinner, 232). Nahor seems to be an artificial name made from 
Harran (*|"*,n) by transposition of consonants. One may venture to suggest 
that Terah's son Haran, the father of Milcah, is, also, but an artificial variation 
of the place name Harran, based upon Assyro-Babylonian pronunciation. 
This argument is strengthened by the J genealogy in 11 : 28-80, where Nahor 
is the husband of Milcah (Ishtar of Harran?), and the J list in 22 : 20-24, 
where their descendants have Aramean place names in good part, cf. Uz, Buz, 
Aram, Chesed (?). The next incident to this genealogy of Nahor (22 : 20-24) 
in the J source rather significantly concerns the errand of Abraham's steward, 
who goes to Harran by Abraham's command. There is no violence done to 
the laws of phonetic exchange in the Semitic dialects if we assume that Harran 
(liri) was pronounced in Hebrew like Haran Ci^,r\) Lindberg, Vergl. 
Gramm. vd. Sem. Sprachen, i. 29-36, cf. Skinner, 236. For Harran and Milcah, 
cf. KAT3, 364f. The Terahite genealogy 11 : 27ff has the purpose to account 
for Aramean peoples apparently. Perhaps, this applies also to the Shemite 
genealogy. Cf. Skinner, 233f. 

With Haran of 11 : 26, cf. Bethharan, Num. 32 : 36. The place is a Gadite 
(Aramean ?) city. 

* Elsewhere in J this is Harran or Mesopotamia 24 : 4, 7, 10, cf . 27 : 43, 
28 : 10, 29 : 4. 

' So LXX here and in 15 : 7. This is either a mistaken location of Harran 
or a gloss of ancient date which has become the basis of P's " Ur of the Chal- 
dees." 

« Endogamy among the Terahites; cf. 20:12, 24: passim, 29:19; 
cf. Skinner, 237f. 

» Continued in 12 : Iff. 

10 For Ur=fire, cf. Jub. 12 : 12-14, where Haran perishes by fire (dr) in 
Ur of the Chaldees. 

" Vd. Skinner, 238. 

»2 Haran died in Harran; Terah and Nahor remained there; Abram and Lot 
go to Canaan. 



[135] 



CHAPTER XIII 

A SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF 
GEN. 1-11 



CHAPTER XIII 

A SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF 
GEN. 1-11 

Cf. H. P. Smith, Old Testament History, Chap. 
II. 

H. E. Ryle, Genesis, xlv.-cv. 

R. Smend, AlttestamentUche ReHgionsgeschichte, 
434-440. 

Though in the preceding pages attention 
Punposein j^^g been constantly directed to the con- 
victions expressed in the several passages 
discussed, it seems, nevertheless, desirable to bring 
together in one view the teachings thus casually 
referred to. To do this will enable the reader 
more easily to grasp the two systems of beUef under- 
lying the two great sources, J and P, and to com- 
pare them the one with the other. The respective 
sources represent widely separated periods of Hebrew 
thought (J the early eighth century; P the late sixth 
century) ; they furthermore represent different circles 
of thought, J the early prophetic circle; P the grow- 
ing scholasticism of the literary priesthood. It goes 
without saying that other views touching the sub- 
jects treated in Gen. 1-11 were held by other writers 
who lived in the times of J and P or at other times 
in the Old Testament period. A fair view of the 
whole development of ancient Hebrew thought 
would necessarily take account of what these other 
writers have taught, but conciseness and clearness 
of presentation demand that for our special purpose 

[139] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

we confine our outKne to the early chapters in Genesis 
and those only. 

In estimating the views expressed in J 
ofTSS p^ one has to keep in mind that " he " (J 
is the symbol of a school of writers) writes 
before Israel had been brought into close and con- 
tinuous contact with Assyro-Babylonian culture; 
that he has the intense human touch of the early 
prophets; that he has their patriotic sympathy 
with social wellbeing; and that like them he would 
recall his compatriots to a primitive simplicity and 
loyalty to Jehovah. P writes in Babylonia where 
'^ he '' (P also refers to a school) and his fellow exiles 
had long been familiar with the literary methods and 
spiritual temper of a dominant priestly class. The 
themes treated in these chapters of Genesis were 
staple themes with the temple priesthood of Baby- 
lonia. The ordered and formal style of Hebrew 
priestly literature is a restrained and stately imitation 
of Babylonian models. 

The interest of P is in God rather than man; in 
themes of the school more than in sensitive human 
beings; righteousness has become a rule with him 
and not a character of the spirit. 

The subjects treated by J in the order 

l^e^subjects of their occurrence in Genesis are as follows : 

in Gen. 1-11 1. The Creation of man, Gen. 2 :4b-7, 

2. Man's primitive life (in Eden), Gen. 

2 : 8-25. 

3. The origin of human sin, Gen. 3 : 1-21. 

4. The loss of Paradise, Gen. 3 : 22-24. 

5. The advance of civilization and the aggrava- 
tion of sin. Gen. 4. 

6. Human descent. Gen. 4 : lG-26. 

7. Judgment on sin (the Deluge), Gen. 6-8. 

[140] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

8. The new beginnings of human history: 

(a) Husbandry and Viticulture, Gen. 9 : 20-27. 

(b) The origin of peoples, Gen. 9 : 18f, 10 passim. 

(c) The renewal of sin, Gen. 11 : 1-9. 

9. The origins of Israel, Gen. 11 : 28-30. 

The subjects treated by P are as follows: 

T^eafed'iy'^p 1- The Creation of the heavens and the 

earth (with special notice of the creation 

of man and the Creator's rest on the seventh day), 

Gen. 1 : 1 — 2 : 4a. 

2. Human descent, Gen. 5. 

3. Judgment on sin (the Deluge), Gen. 6-8. 

4. The covenant with the new race. Gen. 9 : 1-17. 

5. The origin of peoples and languages. Gen. 9 : 28f ; 
10 passim. 

6. The origins of Israel, Gen. 11 : 10-26, 27, 31, 32. 



1 . The Doctrine of Creation in J 

1. The Creator is Jehovah alone. Gen. 
2 :4b. 

2. The material of the world is already 
existent, 2 : 5ff. 

3. Jehovah does not create by fiat 
Me*t^'d^^°''^ (as in P), but by manual art works up 

and moulds the existing material into the 
forms of the phenomenal universe. The Creator at 
work is conceived after the figure of a potter fashion- 
ing clay into vessels. 

4. Jehovah as Creator follows His own 
The Plan, plan and seeks His own appointed end. 

End and tl, i i . , i /. i , i #. 

Motive The whole is, therefore, undertaken for 

His own sake. Cf. 2 : 8, 15-17. 

[141] 



The Creator 
The World-stuff 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

5. The Creator is not all-prescient. Things do 
not realize the Creator's idea for them. Hence, 

He is led to create a new thing in 
Lil^Sfons^'^ order that His design may be fulfilled 

(2 : 18-20, 2 : 21-23). His design may be 
so far frustrated that He may " repent '* of having 
created certain beings; cf. 6 : off. 

6. The primeval condition of the earth 
Earth"™*^^ was that of a rainless waste which was 

moistened only by occasional overflow 
from subterranean sources; cf. 2 : 6. 
ve etation ^* Vegetation did not begin to exist until 

the Creator had fixed the firmament with 
its provision for allowing rain to fall upon the earth 
and had fashioned man to cultivate the soil; cf . 2 : 5. 

8. Before the art of agriculture, vegeta- 
o?jehovah^ tion actually did exist by special exception 

in the Garden of Jehovah which He Himself 
planted in the East, on the steppe called Eden. It 
was a garden of beautiful foliage and fruit trees which 
Jehovah caused to grow up out of the ground, and in 
it Jehovah lived and walked about; cf . 2 : 9, 3 : 8. 

9. The Creator when He created man 
ti^^infhe^" intended him to live in this Garden of God. 
Garden There he would be Jehovah's servant in 

protecting the Garden and dressing its 
trees. His food was to be the fruit of the various 
trees, with one particular tree, that of the discerning 
of the good and not-good, alone excepted; cf. 2 : 8, 15f. 

10. The body of man was moulded by 
Itm^^^^^ Jehovah of moistened clay. When the 

body had been formed, it was constituted 
a living being by Jehovah's breathing into the 
nostrils the living breath of His own spirit; 
(cf. 2 :7 and 6:3). This new principle embracing 

[142] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

what we know as life and mind was as definitely 
material a substance as the breath which passes 
ordinarily through human nostrils. 

11. This principle of '' living breath " 
The Life-soul from the spirit of the Creator which gives 

Pnnciple m..^ . ^ . ••iiiii 

Man hie and soul to man is simply lodged by 

the Creator in man's body and may be 
withdrawn by Him. Man is immortal while it re- 
mains with him, but dies if it be taken away. It 
was the intention of Jehovah that man should retain 
the Hfe-soul principle permanently, though the loss of 
it is contemplated as possible. The violation of the 
specific prohibition against partaking of the tree 
of good and not-good would entail such a loss. 

12. At first, the Creator did not provide 
Jation^5*the for the reproduction of the human species. 
SpSes Man was not created as a pair, male and 

female, but as an individual. By reason 
of the gift of the life-soul he was immortal and other 
provision for the perpetuation of the species was not 
necessary. 

13. The Creator's purpose for man was 
Tiji^creator's that he should live a happy Ufe whose 
for Man factors Were a pleasant physical environ- 
ment, congenial intimacy with his Creator, 

an easy provision for his physical wants, pleasant 
occupation without either pain or toil, obedience to the 
Creator in an attitude of spontaneous loyalty, except- 
ing with respect to one positive command which called 
for reflective decision (cf. Nos. 9 and 11, supra). 
The Provision ^^' ^^^ positive Command laid upon 
for the Moral niau Constituted a means of moral de- 
Growth of the . ^ A , ,1 .. .^1 

Man and velopmeut. At the same time it has no 

oman force except as the possibilities of the 

sex relationship are already in existence. The com- 

[143] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

mand does not apply to man in isolation, but to man 
as related to woman, and with equal necessity to 
woman as related to man. In other words, the be- 
ginnings of moral growth according to J must have 
waited until woman and man were placed in relation 
to one another. Gen. 2 : 16f which places the 
prohibition against eating the forbidden fruit two 
stages before the creation of woman is contradicted 
by the conversation with the serpent in Gen. 3 : Iff. 
That passage correctly implies that the woman had 
received the command as well as the man. 

15. Actually, man as he was first created 
The c^^tion was not Completely happy. He was with- 
Its Purpose out the companiouship of creatures like 

himself. To meet this unforeseen social 
need, the Creator fashioned by moulding clay the 
various kinds of land animals. These were brought 
into relation with man and for the most part were 
at first friendly in their attitude toward him. They 
did not fill man's social need as Jehovah the Creator 
had intended they should; cf. 2 : 18-20. 

16. The animals failing to provide the 
of'woman^'^ needed " helper corresponding to " man, 

Jehovah by a mysterious process unknown 
to man built up of materials taken from man's body a 
woman, in whom man recognized the biological and 
social counterpart needed to complete his blessedness. 

II. The Doctrine of Creation in P 
-.. ^ , 1. The Creator is the God of the Hebrew 

Tne Creator ^ , « - - ^^ ^ 

generations; cf. 1 : 1, 2 : 4a. 

2. He created the heavens and the earth 
stuff: Chaos out of the materials of an existing chaos. 

The chaos consisted of a watery deep in 
which was held the material of the dry land. Over 

[144] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

the waters hung darkness, in the midst of which 
brooded the spirit of God as a bird over the waters; 
1 :2. 

3. The method of the Creator in His 
2?crcLti?n^ work was apparently threefold: (1) To 

produce by fiat directly out of the chaos 
materials, e. g., light, firmament, dry land, heavenly 
bodies, birds; (1 : 3, 6, 14f, 20b). 

(2) To command existing things to bring forth 
other things; e. g., the earth to produce vegetation, 
the waters to produce the aquatic creatures, the 
earthtoproduce the land animals; (1 : 11, 20a, 24). 

(3) To directly make by a Divine act in the single 
case of man; 1 : 27. 

4. The process of Creation is not the 
p^od'^**^^^ slow process which science demands. It 

is begun and ended within a period of six 
ordinary days. 

5. The created result as far as it goes is 
The Relative without fault. It is all ^* Very good.'' 
the Creation Nevertheless, it may be carried still farther. 

The creatures, including man, are to fill 
the world with their respective kinds. (In the case 
of the land animals the command to do this has been 
omitted, probably through inadvertence.) Man, too, 
is to enlarge the perfection of the world by his domin- 
ion over its creatures and his " subjugation '' of its 
elements. 

6. There was a rational progression in 
The ^^es- the process of creating. Each stage was a 
of the Results preparation for what was to follow, e. g., 

light being the condition of aU order and 
organic existence came before these; the firmament 
must have been fixed before it was possible for any 
earth to be distinguished from heaven; hence, the 

[145] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

firmament appears on the second day and the earth 
only on the third. Throughout the account results 
are prepared for by what has been created previously. 

7. In the creation of plant and animal 
g>ecies, not life, kiuds and not merely individuals were 
Created * Created. Abundant reproduction of species 

is expected and therefore a fairly equal 
proportion of sexes was brought into being. 

8. Each department of Creation has its 
Jnc^y^f^th?^*" purpose with relation to some higher de- 
to*th?H?^r partment or order: the inanimate world 

is the sphere of plant life; plants exist to 
furnish food to animals and man; animals are to 
serve man; and, finally, man is to act for the Creator 
in ruling the earth and its creatures. 

9. The creation of man was an act quite 
of^Man^^^°^ apart from the other works of the Creator 

in its preeminent significance. The Crea- 
tor's purpose to create man was a subject of 
conference between God and His host of divine 
beings before the w^ork was proceeded with (1 :26). 
In his whole being, physical and spiritual, he was 
created in the likeness of God; (cf. 5 : Iff P). There 
were apparently two human beings thus created, 
a male and a female; (1 : 28; cf. 5 : Iff). 

10. The reproductive function is not 
The Repro- discovcred through wrongdoing as in J 

ductive Func- . * ^ ^\ ^ , ' ^ T •, 

tionin Man (cf. Gen. 3), but IS kuowu by its possessors 
from the beginning and is specially ap- 
proved by the Creator (1 : 28). 

11. Man is in the image of the Creator 
Godin^Man^ and is to fill the earth with a race which 

likewise is to bear the Creator's likeness. 
The reason appears to be that man's race is 
to take the Creator's place in controlling and 

[146] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

ruling the world and its creatures. (Cf. the Garden 
of God in Gen. 2 : 8flf and the human creature 
animated by Divine breath who is to guard 
and dress it.) 

12. Herbs find their purpose in furnish- 
TheFoodof ing food for animals and man: fruit 

Animals and ^ '^ n ^ .t * • •!• f t i* 

Man trees find theirs m providmg food for man; 

1 : 29, 30. 

13. The six day period of creative activ- 
The Seventh j^^ j^ followed by a Seventh day to com- 
plete the week cycle. On this day the 

Creator rests, that is, produces no new thing, and 
declares the day holy; 2 : 2-3 (cf. notes supra). 

14. The Creator in P's account is not 
NotLocSized localized further than is imphed in His 

being in communication with the divine 
beings w^io form His host and with the created 
objects addressed in His commands to bring forth, 
multiply, etc. It is likely that this manner of 
representing the Creator is largely a survival from the 
past with which P has not been able to dispense. 
The general view of P was that God was in 
heaven (with a special concession in later times to 
Israel in the midst of whom He condescended 
to dwell). 

15. The origin, nature, number, and 
The Attendant location of the beings who are with the 
Beings Creator while His work is in process are 

not made known. (Cf. 1:26; 3:22; 
11 :7; Job 38: 7.) 



[147] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

III. The Account of Primitive Man 

Some features of J's teaching have been already 
noticed, vd. 1 : Sec. 9ff above. 

According to J, the human pair lived 
£^ence(j) in the Garden of God the simple life of 
childlike races who know nothing of the 
conventions of civilization. 

Among the beasts of the Garden, one 
ofui?ser^^ent ^^ ^^^st was hostile to Jchovah the Creator, 
(J) namely, the serpent, the wisest of them all. 

Being hostile to the Creator, he was an 
enemy likewise to the man and woman, as long as 
they obeyed their Creator, 3 : Iff. 

FsTe hin ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ Pricstly source (P) is 
concerned we may conclude that he did 
not share the realistic view of J as to a primitive 
age of innocent happiness when men lived in inti- 
mate physical nearness to God* For P the earth 
needs to be subjugated and its creatures need to 
be ruled over by man. Men live long and the 
human race multiplies fast. The opportunity for 
the corruption of the race and the growth of strife 
is great and as a result mankind degenerates fast. 
P does not explain how sin originated, any more than 
he explains how human arts arose, or how languages 
and peoples came to be differentiated; cf. 10 : 5, 20, 
31, 32. 

IV. The Loss of Blessedness. The Account of J, 

Gen. S 
1. The loss of primitive blessedness was 
om^LosT** occasioned by the disobedience of the 
j&rst human pair to the one positive com- 
mand of Jehovah the Creator. 

[148] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

2. They were induced to disobey by a subtle 
external appeal which sought to undermine the 
The Tern ta- ^^Y^^ Confidence of the first man and 
tionto woman in the Creator, and to create a 

Disobedience . . . , /• • ^i. • • j 

new viewpoint and motive m tneir minds, 
namely, that of self-interest. 

The Tempter ^* "^^^ appeal was presented by an 
external agent who was probably conceived 
to be a literal serpent, cf. 3: 1. 

4. The tempter availed himself of the 
Conditions confidence of the woman; of her sense of 

* avonng ,. . . . ■, / 

Temptation limitation in not knowing how to dis- 
criminate between good and not-good; 
and finlally, of the sexual appetite. 

5. The appeal w^as an invitation to 
J^«^a^reof sexual gratification and the root of all 
Human Sin sin and trouble in the human race 

lies in the first sexual act of the first 
human pair. 

6. On its moral side, such an act in- 
Morai impUca- volved disloyalty and disobedience toward 

tions of this _. , 1 ^ r< i i i • 

Sin Jehovah the Creator, and the substitu- 

tion for these of self-assertive and self- 
seeking independence on man's part. 

7. The sin committed led to the experi- 

ed\^a°ined ^^^^ ^^ *^^ not-good as a uew element 
of Not-good in human knowledge. God, indeed, as the 
serpent had intimated, knew the not-good 
by reflection, but not experimentally, as man did. 

8. The natural results of the act of 
ReLus*S^fhe disobedience committed by the man and 
Disobedience womau Were: the awakening of sex con- 
sciousness; a sense of shame attaching 

thereto; the introduction of conventional decencies 
as to sex; a feeUng of guilt which included a sense of 

[149] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

accountability, a sense of ill-desert, a fear of God, 
and a fear of punishment. 

9. Certain evil factors which exist in 
ThePosUive the world are regarded by J as due to 
Imposed penalties positively imposed by Jehovah 

the Creator on the agents involved in the 
first act of disobedience, namely, the Serpent tempter, 
the Woman, and the Man. All serpents go crawling 
on the ground and eat dust (cf. Isa. 65 :25; Mic. 
7 : 17), because their ancestor who tempted the first 
woman was degraded from an upright posture by 
the Creator. The relentless mutual hostility be- 
tween man's race and the serpent race is due to an 
original penalty placed upon the Tempter. The 
trouble and pain attendant upon the frequent con- 
ception of women and the ensuing childbirth have their 
beginning in a punishment visited upon the first 
woman. Similarly, the desire of women which be- 
comes an occasion of their subjection to their hus- 
bands is to be traced to the same cause (3 : 16). The 
tilling of the soil in order to obtain food involves 
toil and hardship, much of which results only in the 
production of noxious weeds. Moreover, the ground 
with which man contends in lifelong battle claims 
him in the end. He is inevitably turned back to dust. 
All this is simply the inheritance of a penalty im- 
posed upon the first man for his disobedience. 

10. The first pair did not remain in 
S5m^hr^^*°" their happy conditions in the Garden. 
Garden of r^^iey had struck into the path of dis- 
covery for themselves and smitten with 

misfortune and the prospect of death would certainly 
have sought and found the Tree of Life in order that 
they might reverse the penalties imposed upon them. 
Because, therefore, they had become too knowing 

[150] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

and might defeat the purpose of the Creator, He re- 
moved them from the Garden and settled them in the 
far East there to begin the Ufe of hardship which the 
Creator's sentence involved and which men have 
been familiar with since that time. J implies that 
there is no hope whatever of man ever regaining the 
forfeited conditions of life in the Garden of God. 

11. Agriculture as a means of liveUhood 
The^Ne^Life ^as introduced, after man had lost the 
Pain easy conditions of his primitive life. 

Similarly, the first children were born and 
motherhood began only when Paradise was lost and 
the life under penalty was entered upon (3 : 22-24; 
4 : 1, 2a). 

F. The Growth of Civilization 

1. In the second generation of the human race 
there are two human vocations. To the existing 
one of agriculture there is added that of the shepherd 
(4 : 2b). The worship of Jehovah by means of sacri- 
fice is in existence and there is a right mode of sacri- 
fice, in observing which one is said to " do well '^ 
(4 : 7). It is not right to offer exclusively cereal 
offerings; it is right to offer animal sacrifice. 

2. Bloodshed leads to the foundation of a rude 
primitive justice involving excommunication from 
the clan or kindred group, the institutions of clientage 
and asylum, and that of blood revenge, cf. 4 : 15, 16. 

3. The origin of Bedouin life in the desert is traced 
to feud between the shepherd and the agriculturalist 
leading to the driving away of the latter to become a 
desert wanderer. 

4. In immediately following generations there are 
found these stages of advance: the first city built in 

[151] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

the third generation of the race (4 : 17); the arts of 
music and metal-working in bronze and iron in the 
eighth generation (4 : 20-22). It is not necessary 
to speak of the reference in 4 : 20 to the introduction 
of animal husbandry. Another J source, 4 : 2, has 
placed this event at a much earlier stage. This 
may stand as the final judgment of the J school 
of writers on the question. 

5. There is indication of the growth of social 
injustice and correspondingly of the spirit of blood 
revenge (4 : 23f). 

6. In J's view, the worship of Jehovah is of un- 
known antiquity. It is said to have begun in the 
days of a certain Enosh ( = man!) a grandson of 
Adam. 

P gives nothing which would represent the ground 
covered by J (vd. Sec. 1-5 supra). The conditions of 
human life were necessarily different from those found 
in historical times. Physical maturity was reached 
very slowly and children were not born until their 
parents were from three to four times as old as they 
now are at the age of parenthood. The physical 
organism was of much more durable nature than was 
the case in later periods. Human longevity was, 
therefore, nearly ten times as great as it became in 
course of time. Mortality was the universal rule 
from the beginning, according to P. One man alone 
was excepted from the rule, namely, Enoch of the 
seventh human generation (cf. Jude 7), who lived 
his life in the companionship of divine beings (ha- 
'elohim, 5 : 22, 24) ; and in the end did not die, 
but was taken by God ('Elohim, 5 : 24) to be with 
Himself. 



[152] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

VI. The Judgmeyit of the World. J's Account of 
the Deluge, Gen. 6-8, passim 

1. Sin increased in the earth until Jehovah the 
Creator repented of having made man at all. The 
special reasons for the increase of human wickedness 
are three in number: (1) The presence in the earth 
of the Nephllim, giants who were the offspring of 
the "sons of God'' (angels) and human women; 
(2) The long hfe of the antediluvians; (3) The total 
depravity of the formed desires of man's heart 
(12^ nDt^-p ^r-b;)^ lit^y, "every form of the thoughts 
of his heart ") 5 cf . 6 : 1-5. 

2. As a remedial step, human hfe was reduced to 
an extreme limit of one hundred and twenty years. 
The spirit of the Creator did not remain in man's 
body longer than that and without it he died. 

3. Owing to the continued prevalence of evil in 
the earth, Jehovah destroyed all land animals and 
men by a flood, saving only the family of Noah and a 
sufficient number of the animals to preserve alive the 
various species and to provide for the continuance of 
sacrifice. Those who were spared were rescued in a 
large ark or barge. 

4. Worship was reinstituted by Noah who built an 
altar and offered sacrifices after the Flood. 

P's account of the Flood introduces a few new fea- 
tures. It is not merely the sin of men which is judged, 
but the violence wrought by the beasts of the earth. 
Sacrifice is not observed, according to P, until the 
age of Moses; hence no special provision was made 
for the saving of animals for sacrifice, nor is any 
sacrifice observed after the Flood. A covenant be- 
tween God, on the one side, and man and the beasts, 

[153] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

on the other, is entered into after the Flood. By its 
terms God will send no more universal flood upon the 
earth; He will put the fear of man upon the beasts of 
the earth; He will permit the use of animals for food. 
Man, on his part, is to abstain from the use of the 
blood of animals for food; and both animals and man 
are forbidden to shed human blood. He who sheds 
blood will yield up his own blood as a penalty. 

The reversed warbow of God in the sky 
bowsfgS" (the rainbow) is now fixed and is consti- 
tuted a sign to remind God of His cove- 
nant, and to reassure man; (cf. 9 : 1-17). 



VII . J^s Account of Human Progress After the Flood. 
Gen. 9 :18 — 11 :S2, passim 

1. The new human race which began with Noah 
and his sons were agriculturalists (9 : 20) ; but already 
in the first generation after the Flood Noah introduced 
the culture of the vine and the manufacture of wine 
(9 : 20). The new discovery was felt to be a bless- 
ing (5 : 29 J), though its danger was not overlooked 
(9 :21ff). 

2. From the three sons of Noah arose in time the 
various peoples of the earth, who are therefore 
divisible into three major groups, each of which is 
descended from a son of Noah. The dispersion of 
the peoples and the differentiation of human lan- 
guage is attributed by J, in one account, to Jehovah's 
judgment on the builders of the first city which is 
thought to have been the city of Babel (Babylon). 
In another account, also from J, the judgment 
falls upon the presumptuous builders of a lofty temple- 
tower in the wicked land of Shinar (Babylonia); 
cf- 11 : 1-9. 

[154] 



SUMMARY OF GEN. 1-11 

3. The Hebrew people are descended from Shem 
through the Kaldeans (Arpachshad = 'ereg kesed = 
land of Kaldu) and the Habiri (Eber = Habiri) to 
whom belonged Terah and his son Abraham, the 
*' father '' of the Hebrews. 

4. The '' land of Abraham's nativity " (cf . 24 : 4, 7) 
was the region of Harran in Mesopotamia. His 
kindred remained in that region when he set out for 
Canaan. 

P looks upon the different races, languages, and 
countries as due to differentiating factors incident to 
human development. He makes no attempt to 
explain these factors (cf. 10 : 5, 20, 31, 32). The 
Hebrew people had their origin at Ur in southern 
Babylonia. They are, however, closely related to 
certain Aramean peoples (cf. the names in Gen. 
11 : 10-26 and the commentaries in loco). This fact 
P accounts for by assuming that the Terahites, to 
which family Abraham belonged, migrated from 
Babylonia to the region of Harran, cf. 11 : 31. 

P represents the human generation after the 
Flood as of the ordinary length, that is, about thirty 
years, cf. 11 : 10-26. 



[155] 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE PERMANENT TEACHING OF 
GEN. 1-11 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE PERMANENT TEACHING OF 
GEN. 1-lP 

1. The origin of all things in the will of an om- 
nipotent Creator who exists apart from what He has 
created and yet in close relation to all things. 

2. The unity of all things in an orderly system. 

3. The ascending order in the phenomena of the 
universe, with human beings as the destined rulers 
of all terrestrial creatures. 

4. The possession of a relative causal efficiency 
by natural forces and finite creatures. 

5. The possession of the Ukeness of God by man 
giving to him the capacity to rule the earth and the 
promise of a blessedness unknown to other terrestrial 
creatures. 

6. Marriage the supreme social relation both as to 
its duties and privileges. 

7. ReUgion the summum bonum: Its implications; 
faith in the Supreme Creator, complete devotion of 
will and affections to Him, the spiritual recompense of 
reaUzed friendship with Him. 

8. The universal fact of a '' fall '' in the experience 
of blameworthy failure to reaUze the true reUgious 
relation. 

9. The spiritual perils of advancing civiUzation. 

10. The fact of a Divine Providence over all things 
and of a Divine Government over mankind. 

11. The judicial nature of Providence and the 
automatic operation of spiritual penalties. 

[159] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

12. The redemptive element in Providence. 

13. The social organization of mankind and the 
propagation of evil. 

14. The transmission of characters by heredity. 

15. The moral perils of the sexual relation. 

16. The mutual antagonisms of animals and of 
animals and man. 

17. The ebb-tides in human progress. 

18. The optimistic outlook conditioned by the 
religious relation: The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. 

NOTE ON CHAPTER XIV 
1 Cf. H. E. Ryle, Genesis, Introduction, pp. xlvi-liii. 



[160] 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 

A. A Brief Outline op the Babylonian Epic 
OF Creation 

To begin with, Apsu, the Ocean, and Tidmat, the 
stormy Deep, mingled their waters and the gods were 
created through a series of ages. As time passed, 
the gods sought to introduce order into the universe 
and the Chaos-Mother Tiamat in rage set out to 
destroy them and prevent the plan. For this purpose 
she creates and marshals for battle a brood of mon- 
sters. One and another of the gods is urged to fight 
the Chaos brood and slay the Chaos-Mother, but 
they are fearful and accomplish nothing. Then 
Marduk, the god of the young sun, offers and with 
much ceremony is designated as the champion of the 
gods. He equips himself with wonderful weapons, 
takes with him the lightning and the winds of the 
storm, mounts his four-horsed chariot and goes to the 
fight. Overwhelmed, the host of Chaos drew back 
and left Tiamat alone to contend with the young 
Sun-god. He quickly overcame and slew her, split 
her body from head to foot, and of one half made the 
vault of heaven with its doors and bars, and of the 
other the earth. In heaven, the city of the great 
gods Anu, Bel and Ea, was prepared. The divisions 
of time were arranged by the appointment of the 
places and motions of the heavenly bodies. Finally, 
the Creator Marduk undertakes a great and wonderful 
work in the creation of man : 

[163] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

" I will gather blood and fetch thereto bone. 
I will make ready man, yea, human kind [. . .] 
I will create men who inhabit the earth; 
On them be the veneration of the gods, may they 
be [. . .]." 

There was in the account a description of the 
creation of plants and animals but that portion of the 
record has perished. 

After the work of Creation, Marduk the Creator 
enters again the assembly of the gods. Now, he, 
as the conqueror of Chaos and the orderer of the 
universe, comes bearing the Tablets of Fate. He is 
the Lord of all destinies henceforth. The gods be- 
stow upon him the fifty honorific names signifying 
that he is endued with the prerogatives and functions 
of all divine beings, especially with relation to the 
world. 

For other Bab3d9nian texts relating to creation, 
vd. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testa- 
ment, in loco; Gressmann, Altorient, Texte u. Bilder 
z. A. T., 25-30: Jensen, KB. vi. i., 38ff: Jastrow, 
Hebr. and Babylonian Traditions, Chap. 11. 

B. A Brief Outline of the Babylonian 
Deluge Myth 

The Myth is found in Tablet XI of the Gilgamesh 
Epic. The earlier part of the story had related 
among other incidents how Gilgamesh smitten with 
fell disease and crushed by the death of Engidu his 
companion, had made up his mind to go to his ances- 
tor Ut-Napishtim, who has been translated to the 
Islands of the Blessed. He will learn from him the 
secret of the immortal life he has won and secure the 

[164] 



APPENDIX 

balm which will rid him of the plague of death which 
has smitten his frame. After a long journey full of 
marvellous and dangerous experiences, he comes to the 
Sea of Death and embarks in the ferry wdth the boat- 
man. After many days of toilsome rowing, they 
come to the island of the immortals and are greeted 
by Ut-Napishtim. Gilgamesh tells how his friend 
Engidu has died and how he fain would escape so sad a 
fate. For answer, Ut-Napishtim tells him death is a 
decree of the high gods and cannot be evaded. But 
how is it, enquires Gilgamesh, that his ancestor 
stands there passed beyond the world of mortals in- 
deed, but still without hint or sign of death upon him? 
For reply Ut-Napishtim relates the story of the Flood. 
The city of Shurippak on the Euphrates was cor- 
rupt and the gods in anger decreed a general deluge. 
The God of the Deep, Ea, informed Ut-Napishtim 
of the plan and bade him prepare a ship and give 
out that on account of the great god BeFs anger 
he is leaving the land to dwell with Ea. The size and 
design of the ship were settled, it was loaded with 
animals, wild and domestic, with artisans, with the 
family of Ut-Napishtim, and with his possessions. 
The enterprise had been accompanied thus far by 
lavish observance of sacrifice to the gods. All was 
completed inside of a few days (seven?) and when the 
ship was ready, the door closed and the pilot placed 
in charge, a furious storm broke and raged for six 
days. It raised great waves which stormed heaven 
itself and terrified the gods. On the seventh day the 
tempest ceased and the sun shone forth. As Ut- 
Napishtim looked out from the ship water covered 
everything and mankind had perished completely. 
After some days the ship grounded on Mount Nisir. 
It remained there six days. On the seventh day Ut- 

[165] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

Napishtim sent out a dove which not finding a resting 
place came back. He then sent out a swallow with 
a similar result. Finally, he sent forth a raven, 
which found wading depth and remained feeding. 
Seeing this, it was decided to allow those in the ship 
to disembark and go as they would. Ut-Napishtim's 
first act on landing was to offer a splendid sacrifice 
which was graciously accepted by the gods, except 
Bel, who was furious that his purpose to destroy 
mankind should have been frustrated by Ea's counsel, 
Ea manages so fully to pacify Bel that he brings Ut- 
Napishtim and his wife on board the ship once more 
and takes them that they may be like the gods and 
may dwell in the enchanted land at the mouth of the 
two rivers. 

The rest of the Xlth tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic 
tells how, at the solicitation of his wife, Ut-Napishtim 
consents to give Gilgamesh the magic food which 
transforms him and gives him back his health. He 
also tells him how to secure the plant of divine mystery 
at the bottom of the sea. He will now have perpetual 
youth. On his way home in company with the 
ferryman of the Sea of Death, he bathes in a refreshing 
fountain and seduced by a serpent lets the plant of 
life slip from his grasp. It is at once seized by the 
serpent and carried off. Crushed with grief Gil- 
gamesh and the boatman go on and he reaches at 
last the city of Erech his home. 

Vd. Rogers, Cun. Par. O. T., 90ff; Jensen, KB. 
vi. i., 228ff; Gressmann, op. cit., 50ff; Fowler, Hist, 
Lit. of Ancient Israel, 79-84. 



[166] 



Index of Scripture Passages 



GENESIS. 

1 67 

1:1 75i» 

1:1 — 2:4 32, 63, 94i, 141, 144 

1 and 2 130i3 

1—9 141 

1—11 134, 139, 140, 159 

1:2 145 

1:2-5 63 

1:3, 6, 9. 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 

28,29 74* 

1 :3, 6, 14f, 20 145 

1 :4, 10, 12, 18. 21, 25 74^ 

1 :4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25. 31 40^0 

1 :5, 8, 10, 14-19 67, 74^ 

1 :5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 743 

1 :6, 7, 8 63 

1 : 10-12 63 

1 : 11, 20 7523 

1 : 11, 12, 14-16 63 

1 : 11,20, 24 145 

1 : 22, 28 747 

1 :24 41^» 

1 : 26 4121, 74», los^, 146, 147 

1 :27 941, 145 

1 :28 112«, 146 

1 : 28-30 109" 

1 : 29 74" 

1 : 29, 30 147 

2 661, 67, 68, 69, 741* 

2—3 5824,7760 

2—4 87-22, 13011 

2:1 7630 

2:2 4229 

2 :2,3 147 

2:3 747 

2 :4 39,4811,65,7521, 141 

2 :4ff 140 

2 :4-25 32,46.551,63 

2 : 4, 6, 8, 9, 15-17, 25 46 

2 : 4 — 4:26 551.68 

2:5 64, 141 

2 :5fif 142 

2 :5, 7, 18-24 47 

2:6 142 

2:7 4119, 7638, 70, 142 

2 :8ff 147 

2 :8-15f 142 

2 :8, 15-17 141 

2 : 8-25 140 

2 :9 48«, 76« 142 

2 :9ff 68 

2 : 10-14 26S 48», 763«, 76*2 

2 : 11 12127 

2 : 15 480,552 

2 :16f 144 



PAGE 

2 : 16, 17 77" 

2 : 17 48", 57i«, 76« 

2 : 18 74< 

2 : 18ff 42«« 

2 : 18, 19 7517 

2 : 18-20 109", 142, 144 

2:19 748 

2 : 19f 552 

2 : 19, 23 67 

2 : 21-23 142 

2 :23 48", 491* 

2 : 24 49i« 

2 : 25 7882 

3. . .71, 73, 74, 76«, 77^5, 85i, 146, 148 
3:1... 71, 144 

3 : Iff 4225, 148, 149 

3 : 1-21 551,140 

3 : 1-21. 23, 24 47 

3:3 76« 

3 :3, 6, 11 76« 

3 :5 57i» 

3:6 77« 

3 : 7 4916,565 

3:8 476, 142 

3 :9-13 56» 

3 : lOf 7862 

3 : 11 4810 

3 : 14-19 56i» 

3 : 16 5712, 7861, 867, 150 

3 : 17-19 7640,8610 

3 : 19,23 47* 

3 :20 5717 

3 :21 5718 

3 : 22 4120, 551, sgM, 74^, 7643, 7744, 

108», 147 

3 : 22-24 76^, 76*0, 140, 151 

3 : 22, 24 47 

3 :23. 5718 

3 :24 477.5822 

4 83, 851, 944, 9517, 140 

4:1 5717,8833 

4:1,2 151 

4:1-12 81,851 

4: 1-15, 22-24 273^« 

4:2 8831, 151 

4:2 152 

4:2-12 8835 

4:4 86« 

4:7 866.151 

4: 10 86« 

4: 10-12 8610 

4: 11 86"> 

4 : 12 84.8610, 8723 

4 : 12-15 7636, 82, 83, 85i, 86" 

4: 15, 16 151 

4: 16 84 



[167] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



PAGE 

16ff 130^3 8 : 

16-24 81, 84, 851. 86", 88« 92 8 : 

16-26 140 8: 

17 130»», 152 8 : 

17-24 8721, 88», 883« 8 : 

18 95i« 8 : 

20 83, 86«, 947, 948, 152 8 : 

20,22 152 8: 

23f 152 8 : 

23,24 84 8: 

24 951' 8 : 

25 26 . . . 82 851 8 i 

5 '. 9 1 ! 92 * 94», 941*2,' 9512*, 13013.' 141 8 : 

5:1 4224,67 8 : 

5 : Iflf 65. 7410. 941, 146 8 : 

5:1-3 4121 8 : 

5 : 1-14 944 8 : 

5:3 7518. 941 9 : 

5 : 22 .108* 9 : 

5 : 22, 24 152 9 : 

5 : 28—32 8720 9 • 

5 : 29 . 68,* 83,*92, 1*0*8, '11612,* 1 135*7,' 154 9 : 

6 — 8 140, 141, 153 9 : 

6 : 1 — 9 : 17 99 9 : 

6:1-2 109» 9 : 

6:1-4 109». 1207 9 : 

6:1-5 153 9 : 

6:1-8 101 9 : 

6:3 76«, 1099, 142 9 : 

6:4 1099 9 : 

6 : 5ff 142 9 : 

6:5-7 1099 9 : 

6:6 109» 9 : 

6:7 109» 9 : 

6:8 11012 9 : 

6 :9 65, 1084 9 : 

6 : 9-22 1086, 11123 9 ; 

6 : 11 11241 10 

6 : 12, 13 4225 

6 : 18 102, 11014, 133 10 

6 : 20 11015 10 

7:1 11013, 11014 10 

7:1-5 100, 101 10 

7 : 1-16 100 10 

2,3 11015 10 

2-4 103 10 

4 11013 10 

4-12 103 10 

6 99, 100 10 

6-16 100 10 

6, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18-21, 24. ..IIP'' 10 

7 : 7. 8, 9, 10 99 10 

7 : 7-10 1124a 10 

7 : 7-10, 12 100 10 

7 :8, 9 11354 10 

7 : 11 4010, 100, 101, 103, IIP* 10 

7 : 12 100 10 

7 : 12, 16, 17, 22,23 101 10 

7 : 13 103, 11014 10 

7 : 13-16 100 10 

7 : 16 100 11 

7 : 22, 23 113" 

7 :24 103, 1113» 11 



PAGE 

1 103 

1.2,3-5 1112« 

2 66 

2,3 102 

4 103, lllM, iii8» 

5 103. 110i», 1113» 

6 109>, 1112» 

6-12 102, 108* 

7 11015, 11017, 11351 

10 11015,17 

13 102, 11130 

13 103, 1101* 

14 103, 1113« 

14-19 102 

16-18 11014 

21 11020,21 

22 102, 11022 

1-17 141, 154 

1 11241 

2 11241 

2, 3 4225 

3f 4225 

4-6 11242 

6 4121, 75i» 

8flf 102, 103 

11 11248 

12ff, 26f 11022 

18 1191 

18f 141 

18, 19 1191 

18—11 :32 154 

20 154 

20ff 93 

20-27. .107, 1084, 11359, 12141, 141 

21 154 

28 104 

28f 141 

. . .65, 117, 1191, 1224^*. 12457, 13013, 
133, 141 

: 1 1191 

:4 12021 

: 5, 20, 31 1196 

: 5, 20, 31, 32 1194, 143, 155 

: 7 1191 

: 7, 29 48« 

:8-12 119« 

: 10 129, 1295 

: 11 12247 

:15 16 

: 16-19 12241, 4i 

:21 1191, 1235« 

:22 1191, 12350 

: 22-24 134» 

: 23 12248, 12350 

: 23-24 12350, i23»« 

: 24 12349, 12350, 1235«, 135* 

:24f 133 

:25 12457, 1291 

: 28. 29 1191 

:29 12127, 12248 

: 1-9. .8612, 117, 12457, 126, 130i2. 

13013, 154 

:2 5821, 1207. 128 



[168] 



INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 



11 
11 
11 
11 

11 
n 
11 
11 
11 
11 
n 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 

12 

12 

13 

14 

14 

14 

15 

15 

16 

18 

19 

20 

20 

22 : 

22 : 

23. 

24. 

24: 

24 : 

25 : 
25 : 
25 : 
25 ; 
25 : 
25 : 
25 : 
25 : 
26. 
27. 
27 : 
27 : 

27 : 

28 : 
28 : 

28 : 

29 : 
29 : 

29 : 

30 : 
11 : 
34: 
36. 
36 : 



PAGE 

:3 128, 130» 

:4 128 

:S 57i», 128, 129, 130i8 

:6 128 

: 7. . .41» 74<», 128, 129, 130i2, 147 

:8 128, 129 

:9 128, 129 

: lOff 65 

: 10-26 104, 133, 134, 155 

: 1C^26. 27, 31, 32 141 

: 12, 13 123« 

: 12-U 1224« 

: 17 1356 

:27 65 

: 27ff 1355 

: 27-32 134 

:28 122*8 

: 28-30 134, 135^, 141 

: 28, 31 122*8, i23« 

: 31 122*3, 155 

: If 11022, 1359 

: 5 12436 

: 10 478, 488 

:5 16 

: 7 2735 

: 19, 22 863 

: 1 11022 

: 7 1357 

: 12 8724 

: 27 47* 

-.30-38 11358, 120" 

: 12 1358 

: 22 123*1 

: 20-24 12458, 135^ 

:21 123^2 

18, 121*1 

1358 

:4, 7 12438, 155 

:4. 7, 10 1356 

: 1ft" 120« 

:3 122«, 4* 

:4 8614 

: 10 121*1 

: 12ff 65, 12458 

: 12-18 120' 

: 18 48», 12127 

: 19 63 

18 

18 

. .8724 

.1357 

.12141 

.1356 

.1099 
..4010 

.1356 
..481* 

.1358 



40 

43 

46 

10 

12 

17 

4 

14 

19 

26. 29 477 

1 109» 

2 19. 122*2 

18 

Iff 65, 120» 



36 : 2 






..87i« 


36 : 28. . . . 






.123" 


46 : 9 






..8714 


48 : 22. . . . 






.122*2 


49 : 25 ... 






. . .39« 


49 : 32 ... . 






.12141 


3 


EXODUS. 




7414 


3:1 




. . .2738. 8614 


3 : 14ff . . . , 






. . 8829 


6:2 






. .882« 


17 : 8 






. .2735 


18 : 1 






..8614 


18 : 3 






..2738 


20 : 4 






. . .395 


20 : 8-11. . 






. .42-9 


23 : 12. . . . 






. .4229 


25 : 18-20 






. . 5822 


25 : 22. . . . 






. .5822 


31 : 12-17. 






. . 4229 


31 : 17 






. . 4229 


33 : 20 ... . 






..5719 


34 : 6 






. . 7634 


3 : 17 


LEVITICUS. 




.11242 


7 : 26, 27. . 






.112*2 


16 : 10. . . . 






. .8724 


17 : 10-14 






11 ?« 


26 : 31 




110 :21 


10 : 29. . . . 


NUMBERS. 


,..2738. 8614 


13 : 33 . . 




.1099, 


, 10910 


14 




..2735 


22 : 28ff . 






..77" 


24 : 17. . . . 






..8828 


24 : 21f 






..2738 


24 : 24 ... 






.12020 


24 : 20 






..2737 


32 : 36. . . . 






.1355 


DEUTERONOMY. 
1 : 39 


. .4916 


2 : lOff, 20fiF 




..2724 


2 : 23 .... 






.122*« 


4 : 19 






. .7630 


5 : 12-15. . 






. . 4229 


28 : 39 






. .477 


32 : 6 






..868 


32 : 8. . . . 






. 109» 


32 : 41, 42. 






. .58« 


4 : 20 . . 


JOSHUA. 




. . .21 


6 : 26 






..274* 


7 : 21 marg. 






.1207 


9 






. . .19 


9:7 




. .19, 


122*2 


9 : 17 






...19 


10 




. .19, 


122*2 


11 :3 






15. 19 



[169] 



ISRAELIS ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



It :6. . 

12:23. 



PAGE 
...19 

..27i« 



17 : 15 10 

22 :9ff 15 

24 : 2 1215« 



JUDGES. 

4 2733 

16 2738, 86»4 

3 19, 121'*i 

18 

17 27-8 

18 

14 2736 

17 2713 

20 76-w 

24 2739 

-8 20 

33 20 

2 481* 

13 93, 108 

:29 2714 

: 15 2738 

: 7 121« 

: 10 122« 



3 : 
4. 

4 : 
5. 

5 : 
5 : 
5 : 

5 : 
6- 

6 : 
9: 
9 : 
11 
12 
18 
14 



I. SAMUEL. 

2:8 4010 

4:4 5822 

15 2735 

15 : 7 12127 

15 : 8 2733 

26 : 12 4812 

26 : 19 11021 

30 2735 



5:1... 

5:6-9 

6:2 

11 

19: 12, 13. 

19 :35 

21 : 2 



II. SAMUEL. 



. . 48K 
.122« 
..5822 
...18 
. . 481* 
. .4916 
.122« 



I. KINGS. 

5 :6. 121*1 

6 :23ff 5822 

7 : (29), 36 5822 

11 : 1-5 121*1 

16 :31 121*1 

16 :34 27*5 

21 : 19 869 

22 : 19 1089 

22 : 19-22 4120 



2 : 1-11. 



II. KINGS. 



1 

1:7.. 

I :22. 

II : 1. 



I. CHRONICLES. 



.9413 



.1193 
.12021 
.12438 
..481* 



PAGE 

II. CHRONICLES. 

12 :3 12136 

16 : 8 121« 

JOB. 

1:1 12-152 

1 :6 4120, 1089 

2:1 41«), 10S» 

3 : 11 87'9 

4 : 13 481' 

5 :23 4224 

7 : 12 40'7 

9:6 40!'> 

9:7-9 32 

15 : 7, 8 55s 

16 : 18 869 

26 : 7iif 75^ 

26 : 10 409 

26 : 11 4010, 75.;9 

27 :3 47s 

27 : 19 95" 

28 :26 32 

33 : 15 4812 

37 : 12 5828 

37 : 18 4010 

38 : Iff 32 

38 : 4-7 13011 

38 : 7 4120, 763o, 1089, 147 

38 :8-ll 4012 

38 : 19 40» 

PSALMS. 

7 : 12 5822, 58^8 

7 : 12£f 112*» 

8:5 4120 

18 :8ff 5822 

18 : 10 5822 

18 : 14 58=3 

24 : 2 32 

29: If 1089 

33 : 6-8 32 

33:9 40* 

36 : 8 489 

36 : 8 489 

46 : 4 489 

65 : 6 32 

74: 13 40" 

74: 17 11022 

75 : 3 4010 

77 : 17 5323 

78 :23f 7529 

78 :51 1193 

80 : 1 5823 

82 : 1 1089 

89 :5ff 4120 

89 : 6 1089 

90:2 32 

90 : 3 47* 

97 : 7 109« 

99 : 1 582*- 

103 : 14 47* 

104 32 

104:3 5822, 752* 



[170] 



INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 



104 
104 
104 
104 
105 
106 
136 
138 
139 
147 
148 



PAGE 

6 39^ 752^ 

15 108 

29f 396 

30 4122 

23, 27 1193 

22 1193 

5-9 32 

1 1099 

13 863 

15 408 

5 408 



PROVERBS. 

8 :22 863 

8 : 22-31 32 

8:29 4012 

10 :27 9411 

13 : 12 7640 

15 : 4 76^0 



2 : 17. 
4:6.. 



CANTICLES. 



..56« 
..56* 

ISAIAH. 

6 :8 4120, 749 

7 : 15f 4916 

9:1 2716 

11 :6ff 4225 

11 : 11 12137 

13 : 20-22 872* 

14: 13f 489 

17 : 14 9513 

19 : 18 2711 

21 : 13 12244 

23 : 1, 6, 10 12019 

24 :21 109» 

27 : 1 4017. 5822, 5323 

29 : 10 4812 

34:5,6 5822 

34: 10-15 8724 

40 : 18ff, 25 412i 

40:21f, 28 32 

40 : 26 7650 

42 : 8 5719 

46 : 5 4121 

48 : 11 5719 

50: 1 941 

51 : 3 476, 488 

51 : 9 4017, 5822 

60 : 19f 7528 

64:9 11022 

65 : 11 408 

65 :20 9411 

65 : 25 4225. 56io. 150 

66: 15 5823 

66 : 19 12017. 12019, 1212a 

JEREMIAH. 

2 : 10 1202« 

3 :6ff 8715 

5 :22 32 

10 : 9 12019 

12 : 12 5822 



PAGE 

25 : 20 12352 

25 :23 12244 

25 :24 1209 

32 : 10 941 

35 :6-19 108 

44 : 1-15 12137 

46 : 9 12140 

47 : 4 12245 

47 : 6 5822 

49 : 8 122" 

51 :27 1208. I2012 

LAMENTATIONS. 
2:4 11243 

3 : 12 11243 

4 :21 12352 

EZEKIEL. 

1 58'^2 

1 :4f 5822 

1 : 26f 4121 

9 : 4, 6 8725 



10. 



.5822 



10 :2fiF 5822 

10 :4, 18, 19 5822 

14 : 14, 20 11012 

16 : 3 2712 

21 :8-17, 28 5822 

21 : lOf 5823 

8716 



.1208 
..869 
.12244 
.12020 
.12018 

.12242 



23 

23 :23. . . 
24:7f. .. 
25 : 13. . . 

27 :6 

27 : 7 

27 :8, 11. 

27 : 10 1208, 12140 

27 : 12 12019 

27 : 13 12017, 12022 

27 : 14 12014 

27 :22 12129 

28 : 1-19 555 

28 : 13 489 

28 : 13-16 5822 

28 : 14-16 5822 

29 : 3 4017 

30:5 12140 

31 : 7ff 488 

31 :8f 477 

31 : 8, 9, 16 47<» 

32 : 2 4017 

33 :25f 11242 

38 : 2 .12015 

38 :2f 12015. 12122 

38 : 5 1208, 12140 

38 : 6 12011, 120i4 

38 : 13 12244 

39 : 1 12122 

39 : 6 12015 

41 : 18-20 5822 

47 : 1-12 488 

47 : 12 7640 



[171] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



PAGE 

DANIEL. 

3 :25, 28 108» 

4 : 17 41M 

7:9 41« 

7 : 10 4120 

8 :21 120" 

10 :20 120" 

11 : 2 120" 

11 :43 12138 

HOSEA. 

2 : 11 422» 

2 : 18 4225 

4 : 11 108 

JOEL. 

2 : 10, 30f 76«''2 

3:6 120" 

3 : 18 48» 

AMOS. 

5 :21 11021 

7:4 395 

8:5 422» 

9:7 122« 

JONAH. 



1 


: 3. . . 




1 2019 


4 


: 2. . . 




12019 


S 


: 6. . . 


MICAH. 


... . 1197 


7 


: 17. . 




. . .56l^ 150 


3 


:9. .. 


NAHUxM. 


12P5, 12140 


^ 


:9. . . 


HABAKKUK. 


112« 


3 


: 11. . 




5823 



ZECHARIAH. 

5 :8-ll 129 

9 : 13 120" 

14:6. 7 7523 

14 : 8 48» 

14 :21 16 



3 : 10. 



MALACHL 



.4010 



MATTHEW. 

10: 16 552, 7738 

12 : 43-45 8724 

22 :30 852 

MARK. 
12 :25 852, i09» 

LUKE. 

8 :26 122*2 

20 : 34-36 852 



PAGE 

JOHN. 

I :3 408 

8 :44 77M 

20 :22 476 

IL CORINTHIANS. 

II :3 552, 77" 



1 : 16. 



COLOSSIANS. 



.40* 



HEBREWS. 

1:2 40» 

11 : 7 108*, 11013 

II. PETER. 

2 :4 109> 

2:5 11012, 11125 



6. . 

7. . 
14. 



JUDE. 



.1099 
.152 
...93 



REVELATION. 

1 : 16 5823 

2:7 7640, 77« 

2 : 12-16 5823 

4:6-8 5822 

12 : 9 775« 

13 : 16f 8833 

19 : 15 5823 

20:2 775« 

21 : 23 7528 

22:2.].'.'.' .'.*. *. ". *. '. " ". *. * 76*0* '7*743/ 7744 

22 : 5 .7528 

ENOCH. 

6:ff 109» 

6:6 948 

19 109» 

25 : 4f 76*0 

81 : Iff 95i« 

86 109» 

93 : 2 9514 

106 : 13 946 

II. ESDRAS. 

6 :38ff 32 

6 : 40 752s 

8 :52 76« 

JUBILEES. 

3 :28 7767 

3 :34 7754 

4:1-9 8613 

4 : 15 94« 

4: 17ff 9516 

4: 17-21 95" 

5:5 1099 

5 :19 lU^ 



[172] 



INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 

PAGE PAGE 

9 : 13 12124 44 : 16 95i2 

10 :f 1294, 1354 44 : 17 110<a 

12 : 12-14 13510 

PRAYER OF MANASSAH. 

I. MACCABEES. 3 32 

5 : 15 27i« 

WISDOM. 

III. MACCABEES. 2 : 24 77«« 

2:4 109» 3:1 77?6 

14 : 6 109» 

SIRACH. 

16:7 109» BARUCH. 

24 :27 48» 3 : 26-28 109« 



[173] 



Index of Subjects 



PAGB 

Abdi-Hiba, King of Jerusalem; a Hittite name 27«« 

Abel 81flF. 851. 87" 

Aborigines (non-Semitic) of Canaan 17 

Abraham 104, 135^, 155 

Abraham, birthplace of 27^ 

Adah, wife of Lamech 82, 87i« 

Adam, genealogy of , in P 91, 92, 94», 94 

Adapa myth 48", 57i8, 5719, 5824 

Adytum in pre-Israelite shrines 21 

Africa, as known to Israel 9, 11 

Africa, home of mother-race of Hamites and Semites 11 

Agriculture, beginnings of S7« 582o, 81, 82. 93, 101, 113". 151 

Agriculture, Canaanite 20 

Allegory 56«. 72 

Altar, pre-Israelite 21 

Amalekites 17. 20, 27»8 

Amalekites and Kenites 20 

Amalekites in Mount Ephraim 20 

Amalekites of Bedouin habits 19 

Amama correspondence 18 

Ammon 13, 15, 120» 

Amorites mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions 17, 18, 19 

Amorites of Heshbon obtain mastery of Western Canaan 17 

Amorites of the 15th century B.C 17 

Amurri, Hittite control of 18 

Anakim, not definitely located 16 

Animals, classification of , in P 41i» 

Animals, creation of 38, 41". 46, 69, 144 

Animals, and man, mutual amity between in primitive age 422« 

Antiochus Epiphanes 7, 9 

Anu, the Babylonian god 70. 112«, 163 

Apologetic motive in the History of Israel 3 

Apsu, the primeval Ocean 77«, 163 

Arab-Aramean settlers in Maritime Plain 14 

Arabia, as known to Israel 9 

Arabia, Hebrew sense of relationship with 10, 11 

Arabia, migration of African peoples into 11, 26* 

Arameans 12. 14. 27". 1355, 155 

Arameans, kinsfolk of Hebrews 12, 26» 

Aramean element in Gad 14i* 

Aram-Naharaim, home of the Hebrew race 12 

Ararat, I^nd of 103, 104 

Archaeological exploration, and the history of institutions 5 

Archaeological remains. Source for History of Israel 3 

Arnon, a boundary of Israel 13 

Arpachshad 122«, 1352, 135M55 

Arts, Beginning of 82. 84. 86^, 87i8, 8720. 883». 128. 152 

Aruru-Ishtar 70 

Aryan relationship to Semites not close 11 

Asher, harbors of 27i* 

Asia, extreme S. Western, home of Semitic peoples 11 

Asshur 45 

Assyria, as known to Israel 9 

Assyria, Inscriptions. Source for History of Israel 3 

Assyro- Babylonian Semites 12 

Asylum, Origin of 151 

Awim. their camp-villages in Maritime Plain 16 



[175] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

PAGB 

Babel, city of 119^. 128«. 129«, 130« 

Babel (city). Origin of 154 

Babel. Tower of 127. 128. 154 

Babylonia, Inscriptions. Source for History of Israel 3 

Babylonia, Southern, as home of the Hebrew race 12 

Bashan, Amorite kingdom of 17 

Bedouin, Origin of 84, 88". 151 

Beginning, The, A proper name 39« 

Bel. the god 163. 165. 166 

Ben Sira, Book of 7 

Bercshith =in the Beginning 39* 

Birds, Creation of , 38. 40w 

Blood, Prohibition of 112« 

Blood Revenge 83, 86». 112« 152 

Book of the Generations «= List of 94* 

Building materials, pre-Israelite 31 

Buildings, Canaanite in period before Conquest 20 

Breath of God as source of life and spirit 41i»b, 47*. 47 

Cain 72, 81. 82, 83, 85, 85i, 86«, 86^ 86w, 87», 87*?. 94<. 94». 95i» 

Cain, identified with Kenites 27" 

Cain, mark of 82, 8725. 88»» 

Cain, the Bedawl 87^, 872« 

Cainite genealogy 81, 84, 88«, 94» 

Canaan, Land of 15, 16 

Canaan, Language of, standing designation of Hebrew dialect 27ii 

Canaan, Noah's curse on 107 

Canaan, son or grandson of Noah 108, 121<i 

Canaanite dialects, their variations 12 

Canaanite division of Semitic family, Members of 12 

Canaanite peoples of interior of Palestine 12 

Canaanite races of Palestine 12 

Canaanites, race inhabiting Phoenician coastland 10. 17 

Canaan ites, were Semites by speech and physical type 12 

Captivity. Babylonian. An epoch of Israel's History 6 

Captivity, date of 8 

Captivity, History of, its significance 26» 

Carmel Range, a natural frontier 14 

Cave or rock dwellings in Canaan 21 

Central Mountain Range 15 

Chaldeans 155 

Chaos, the primitive world-stuff 37, 66, 145, 163 

Cherubim 55. 58" 

Christianity, origin in Judaism 6 

Chronology 8 

Chronology of J: in Deluge account 110" 

Chronology of P: Deluge, 103; genealogy in Genesis 5, 91; in Genesis 
n : 10-28. 104, 1353, 135^, 1355 

Cities, Canaanite before the Conquest 20 

Clothing. Origin of 53, 54, 56«, 57w. 78m 

Commerce, Canaanite 18 

Contemporary History in relation to History of Israel 5 

Covenant with Noah 153 

Creation Myth, Babylonian 69. 76w 

Creation Myth, parallels between Babylonian and Hebrew accounts 77*« 

Creation narratives: characteristics of style, 63, 64, 74"; conception of 
begetting in P, 65; differences between P and J, 64; Fourth day's 
work in P, 67; incomplete and fragmentary character of J's account, 
70; mode of creation, 64; not scientific in purpose, 70; omissions in 
J. 74i«; order of creative acts, 63, 75"; progressive arrangement in, 
64, 74*; the religious purpose. 71; two-fold division in P. 66; unity 
of authorship. 63. 
Creation narratives in Old Testament and Apocrypha 32 



1176] 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



FAGB 

Creation, Permanent teaching as to 159 

Creation references in the Old Testament 32 

Creative days and creative works 75>i 

Curse of Jehovah 54. 56W. 57". 57" 57". 57". 85«. 150 

Cush 45 

David, a kingly leader 7 

David and Solomon, extent of their dominions 13 

Day and Night 37, 40« 

Death. Penalty of 48". 53. 72, 165 

Decorative art, Canaanite 20 

Deluge 88»8 95" 

Deluge: ark in Babylonian account, 111^7, lliss; Babylonian, Myth of , 93«, 
104, 11021, 1124«, 11247, 11360, 11351, ii3»; chronology of in P, 111«, 
111», 11134, 11138, 11189; datc of Hcbrew narratives, 105; J's account. 
101; landing place of Ark in P, lll^s; man's fear put upon beasts 
after Deluge, 112*1; P's account of, 102; place where stories originated, 
1087; possibility of a universal Deluge, 105, 113"; Rainbow as sign 
of covenant, 103; season of, 103 llO", 112«; sources of accounts, 
99; specifications of the ark, 102; violence of animals, an occasion of, 
10911; wickedness of men, an occasion of, 109ii. 

Deuteronomic Law Book 22 

Deuteronomy denounces Masseboth 21 

Diocletian, use of name Palestine under 16 

Diodorus Siculus, reference to History of Israel 3 

Divine Beings attendant on Creator 4120, 64, 147 

Divine Beings, marriage of 101, 108> 

Divine Likeness in man 38. 41», 4ia 68. 75«. 776i, 94i. 94*. 146, 159 

Dogmatic presuppositions in J 68 

Ea 77». 165, 166 

Eabani. Myth of 582*, 165 

Earth and Heaven, their host 42» 

Earth, its sterile condition in J 45 

Eber 155 

Eden, see Garden of God 

'Exih= primitive overflow 47' 

Edom, boundary of Israel 13 

Egypt, conditions at time of Exodus 8 

Egypt, Inscriptions. Source for History of Israel 3 

Egypt, River of, boundary of Israel 13 

Egypt, Semites related to populations of ancient 11 

Elam 9 

Elohistic history late 8th cent., B. C 22 

Emim, pre-Moabite inhabitants of Moab 16 

Engineering skill, Canaanite 20 

Enmeduranki, seventh Babylonian king before Flood 93, 94i2, 95" 

Enoch 92, 942, 94«. 94", 94i2, 95i6, 95i«, 152 

Enoch, city of 81, 861*, 84, 883« 

Enosh 82, 84, 85i, 88M, 94», 94i» 

Ephraim, as Israel's home 15 

Esau 87". 87M 

Ethiopian peoples of Abyssinia 12 

Ethnographical affiliations of Israel 5 

Ethnography, studied from genealogical standpoint 26« 

Euphrates 9, 12. 45 

Euphrates Valley, route of Semitic migration from 12 

Europe, fraction only known to prophets 11 

Eusebius, source for History of Israel 3 

Eve 54, 56«. 57", 71, 82, 83, 84 

Excommunication 83 

Exodusi an Epoch of Israel's History 6 



1177] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

PAGE 

Exodus, date of 8 

Ezra, a priestly leader 6 

Ezram legalism in post-exilic period 7 

Fall of man 53, 55i, 56», 71, 73, 86«. 149fif. 159 

Fig tree, its leaves 56^ 

Firmament 37, 40io, 75i», 163 

Flavins Josephus, participant in Jewish War 3 

Food assigned to man and animals 39, 42" 

Gad, Aramean element in 27" 

"Gain of the nations" 14, 27" 

Garden of God 46fr, 476, 47?, 488, 49i8, 55, 56« 68, 81, 852, 142, 150 

Genealogers, Hebrew, connect Canaanites with Hamitic races 10 

Generations of Heaven and Earth 37, 39^, 65, 75i» 

Genesis and the Historical Books 31 

Genesis, character of sources 23 

Genesis, Dogmatic presuppositions of 32 

Genesis, Problem of 31 

Geographical knowledge of writers of Genesis 9 

Geography, studied from genealogical standpoint 26« 

Geshur, Aramean state of 27" 

Gihon. river 45, 48» 

Gilgals or stone * 'circles" 21 

Gilgamesh Epic 48", 164ff 

Girgashites 17, 19 

God, conception of in Gen. 3 74 

Gods, household 21 

Great Deep, see Tehom 

Greece, P connects Tarshish with 10 

Greek Age, period of History of Israel 7 

Greek thought, favor and disfavor toward 7 

Gudea of Lagash 48w 

Habiri 155 

Ham 108, 1 19* 

Hamath, boundary of Israel 13 

Hamites, no connection admitted with Hebrews and Arameans 26« 

Hammurabi, mentions Hittites 27^7 

Hanigalbat=Mitanm 2728 

Haran 134, 1355, 135" 

Harran 135, 135^, 135?, I3512, 155 

Haru = Southern Palestine, vd. Horites 2722 

Hasmonean Age, period of History of Israel 7 

Hasmonean State 9 

Havilah 45, 48« 

Heaven, Creation of. See Firmament. 

Heavenly Bodies 38, 40", 67 

Hebrew, a Canaanite dialect 13, 27" 

Hebrew language and Hittite influence 19 

Hebrew language, antiquity of 13, 48" 

Hebrew language, effect of contact with alien peoples 13 

Hebrews, kinsfolk of Arameans 26* 

Hebrews, origin of 123^, 155 

Hebrews, sense of closer relationship to certain peoples 10 

Hellenistic movement, growth of 7ff 

Heredity 160 

Herodotus, meaning of Philistia in 272« 

Herodotus, references to History of Israel 3 

Heshbon, Amorite kingdom of 17 

Heshbon, Israel's advance through 17 



[178] 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 

PAGE 

Hexateuch: bibliography, 26; conclusion after examination of historical 
books and prophets, 23; critical examination of, 22; facts which 
lead to discrimination of various sources, 23; literary character, 
22; relative development of thought confirms conclusion redates, 
23; time of composition of various sources, 23. 

Hill-cities of Canaan 19f 

Historical writings, knowledge of world-history defective in 10 

Hittite movement, 15th century B.C 17ff 

Hittite state on Orontes 18 

Hittites, 121"; assimilated to Semites, 19; in Southern Canaan, 18; not 
Semites, 19; origin of name, 18. 

Hivites, at Shechem, Gibeon and Mount Hermon 17, 19 

Horites, pre-Edomite inhabitants of Edom 16, 2723 

Immortality, Gift of 68, 72, 76^0, 7760, 143, 164, 166 

Institutional history. Its value 5 

*Irad 81 

Ishmael 872* 

Ishtar, goddess 77*» 

Israel, entrance into Canaan 17 

Israel, Land of, extent ideal and actual 13 

Israel, Land of, invasion by Hittites 18 

Israel's history, its Epochs 6 

Israel's history, its events interpreted by theological principles 4 

Israel's history, history of a national religion 4 

Jabal 82, 86^, 87" 

Japheth 107, 108, 11359, 1193 

Jared 94^, 94« 

Jealousy of Deity 582o, 582i 

Jebusites 17, 19 

Jehovah, conception of in Gen. 11 : 1-9 130^^ 

Jehovah, origin of pronunciation 882' 

Jehovah, universal sovereignty of 32 

Jehovist Source, characteristics 139ff 

Jehovist Source, doctrine of Creation 141fif 

Jehovistic history, date early 8th cent. B.C 22 

Jehovist's knowledge of world 26^ 

Jeroboam II and Uzziah, extent of their dominions 13 

Jerusalem, captured by Titus 9 

Jewish independence, age of 7 

Jewish nationality shattered by destruction of Jerusalem 9 

Jews, History of. Age of reconstruction 9 

Jordan, divides the peoples to the East and West 14 

Josephus, first uses the name Palestine 16 

Joshua and boundaries of the tribes 27^3 

Jubal 82, 8718 

Judah, limited political opportunity 15 

Judah, religious section of Israel 15 

Judaeo-Alexandrian writers a source for Jewish thought 26^ 

Judaism, forerunner of Christianity 6 

Kadesh, Amorite and Hittite capital 18 

Kasdim 122« 

Kenan 945 

Kenites, and Amalekites 20 

Kenites, identified with Cain 2738, 351 

Kenites, in plain of Esdraelon 20 

Kheta, Great Kheta, country of Hittites 18 

Kingdom, Founding of, an Epoch of Israel's History 6 

Kings before the Flood, Babylonian list of 92, 946, 9412 

Lamech 82fF, 87", 8721, 8840, 91, 93, 943, 9412, 9517 

Lamech's boast song 82, 872i. 8722, 872» 



[179] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 

PAGE 

Languages, Origin of 154 

Legend, its purpose 4 

Legalism, Age of 8 

Light, Creation of 37, 40^ 

Longevity after the Flood 155 

Longevity before the Flood 152ff 

Lot 135" 

Maacah, Aramean state of 27i* 

Man, creation of 38, 47, 47<. 69, 142. 146, 163 

Man, Dominion over the earth 39, 64, 74" 

Marduk, the Creator 70, 7633, 77«, 163ff 

Maritime Plain, controlled by Phoenicians and Philistines 14 

Marriage 47, 48i5, 57i3, 69 

Masseboth in relation to altar 21 

Mehujael 81 

Merahspheth= brooding 40^, 66, 7522 

Mesopotamia, route of Semitic migration through 12 

Metal working, Canaanite 20 

Methuselah 94* 

Methushael 82 

Midianites in Mount Ephraim 20 

Migration, paths of 13 

Migrations: Semites late comers in Asia 12 

Milcah 134, 135^ 

Minhah 86" 

Mishna, a source for history of Jewish thought 26^ 

Mitanni. Hittite state on Euphrates 18, 2728 

Moab 120» 

Moab and Israel 15 

Moab=Seth 8828 

Moabites, a Canaanite group 13 

Monarchy as an institution, growth of 5 

Monarchy, date of 8 

Mongols, relationship to Semites not close 11 

Moral growth, Original provision for 143 

Moses, a prophetic leader , 6 

Moses, no data for time before 8 

Myth and legend in Genesis 26* 

Myth becomes allegory in Gen. 3 56« 

Myth, its purpose 4, 72 

Naamah 83, 87i» 

Nahor 134, 1358. 1355, 135i2 

Names, Significance of 67 

Nephesh=Life soul 38, 40i», 7688, 142 

NephUlm 101, 153 

Nimrod 119' 

Nisir, Mount 105, 164 

Noah 83, 8830. 8838, 93^ 943, 9412, 9516, 995, ma*, 153, 154 

Noah, covenant wdth 103, 1112^ 

Noah, faith of IIO" 

Noah, wisdom of 108* 

Nod, Land of 81, 84 

North Africa, Semites related to populations of 11 

Old Testament history written long after events 3 

Old Testament, use of myth and legend in 4 

Oracles, Pre-Israelite 21 

Palestine: Canaanite races of, 12; conditions at time of Exodus, 8; con- 
quest of, a peaceful one, 273i; derivation of name, 15; Inscriptions. 
Source for History of Israel, 3; name first used by Josephus, 16; 
physical character, 15; Semitic migration to, 11. 



[180] 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



PAGB 

Paradise lost 46, 53, 55i, 73. 150 

Pastoral life, Origin of 83, 151, 152 

Peoples, Differentiation of languages 117, 127 

Peoples, Dispersion of 117. 127, 128 

Peoples, Origin of 154 

Peoples, Table of in Gen. 10 117, 118, 119i, 119* 

Perizzites 19 

Persia, date of Greek conquest 9 

Persian Age, period of History of Israel 9 

Philistia, as understood by Herodotus 272o 

Philistia, part of Canaan 16 

Philistines 122" 

Philistines and Israel 15 

Philistines, date of occupation of Maritime Plain 8 

Philistines, entrance into Western Canaan 17 

Philo Judaeus, a source for Jewish thought 26^ 

Phoenicia, part of Canaan 16 

Phoenicians, a Canaanite group 12 

Phoenicians and Israel 15 

Pishon river 45, 48» 

Polygamy 82, 84, 87i« 

Pompey, conquest of Palestine 9 

Pottery, Canaanite 20 

Prehistoric peoples of Canaan 17 

Pre-Israelite Buildings 21 

Pre-Israelite Canaan 17 

Pre-Israelite civilization of Canaan 20 

Pre-Israelite Semites in Canaan 17 

Pre-Mosaic period of Israel 6 

Priesthood as an institution, growth of 5 

Priestly Source: characteristics, 139ff; Priest's Code, 22; P's doctrine of 

Creation, 144ff; Priestly history, 22; P's list of peoples, 26^; P's 

view of the Conquest, 27i3. 

Prophet, a dogmatist 11 

Prophetical Books as a sacred volume 7 

Prophetical writings, knowledge of general movement of history 10 

Rainbow, origin of 154 

Rainbow, sign of covenant 103, 112*8 

Rephaim, not definitely located in Canaan 16 

Rehob, Aramean state of 27i* 

Reuben, disappearance of tribe 27^* 

Roman conquest under Pompey 9 

Romans, Jews under 7, 8, 9 

Ruah hayy6m=early morning 56^ 

Sabbath 39, 4229, 67, 7638 

Sacrifice, foundation 21 

Sacrifice of firstborn in pre-Israelite Canaan 21 

Sacrifice, origin of 151, 153 

Sarah 134 

Scribes, power of in post-exilic period 7 

Seaports, Lack of in Israel 14 

Seas and dry land, Creation of 37, 40". 40^2 

Semites, development of their special character in Arabia 12 

Semites, originally from Africa 11 

Semites, secondary migration of back into Arabia 11 

Semitic dialects, mutual relations of 12 

Semitic group of peoples 12 

Semitic type 12 

Serpent in Babylonian Deluge Myth 166 

Serpent. Tempter 53ff, 55', 55*, 56io, 71, 7756, 149, 150 

Seth 82, 84, 85, 87" 88>8, 94» 



1181] 



ISRAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS 



Sethos I, mentions Hittites 272* 

Seventh day, see Sabbath. 

Sex-consciousness 49i*, 53ff, 56«, 160 

Shabattu 4229, 7436 

Shame, sense of 53, 56e, 78«2 

Shem 104, 107, 108, 1193, 133, 155 

Shinar 129, 154 

Shrines, pre-Israelite 21 

Shurippak, City of 165 

Sinai, a Kenite region 20 

Sinai, the land of Amalek 19 

Sinai, the land of Midian 20 

Species, Reproduction of , 40^8, 4123 

Spirit of God 392, 396, io8« 

Stone age, remains of 17 

Suetonius, reference to History of Israel 3 

Syria, Hittite migration to in 15th cent. B. C 18 

Syria, influence of Hittite language in 19 

Syria, Inscriptions of, source for History of Israel 3 

Syrian desert, less desirable lands around peopled by Semites 11 

Syrian peoples, closely related to Hebrews 10 

Sword of Flame = Lightning 55. 5822, 5323 

Tacitus, references to History of Israel 3 

Tanninim 38, 40i8 

Tardemah=deep sleep 48^2 

Tarshish, among ''sons'* of Greece 10 

Teh6m=Great Deep 37, 392, 395, 66, 77« 

Temptation, moral character of 73, 78^1 

Temptation, sensuous nature of the first 72 

Terah 134, 1355, 135^, 13512. 155 

Teraphim 21 

Tiam^t 395, 7524, 7746, 11243, 163 

Tigris 9, 45 

Tohd and BohCl 36, 592, 66 

Tree of Knowing Good and not Good. .45ff, 48io, 48", 53, 55, 555. 566, 764o, 77« 

Tree of Life 45ff, 48io, 53ff, 582o, 72, 76«, 77« 

Tree of Truth 48io 

Tubal-Cain 82, 87n» 

Ur of the Chaldees, birthplace of Abraham 27», 155 

Uriah, the Hittite 18 

Ut-Napishtim. Hero of Babylonian Deluge Myth 165ff 

Vegetation, Creation of 38, 40^3 

Vine, Origin of culture of 93. 107. 11357, 154 

Wady el-Arlsh, River of Egypt 13 

Windows of Heaven 66 

Woman, Creation of 46, 47. 48i2, 48", 64, 69, 143ff 

Word of Jehovah 40^ 

World as known to Israel 9 

Worship in pre-IsraeHte Canaan 21 

Worship of Jehovah, origin of 152, 153 

Worship, origin of 81f, 84ff, 85i, 86», 882», IIO20 

Zobah, Aramean state of 27" 

Zamzummim, pre-Ammonite inhabitants of Ammon 16 

Zillah 82 

Zuzim, vd. Zamzummim. 



[182] 



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